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Indie, Americana, folk.

This is a Norwegian indie folk quartet celebrating their 10th anniversary with a 4-song EP simply titled Four Little Songs (Drops October 3/Die With Your Boots On Records/Jansen Records/Black Pop/PEKULA). This is the first time the group has recorded what they often do during their live concerts: cover songs. There are two Gillian Welch tunes, a Jason Isbell song, & a composition by Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman. 

I reviewed this band in 2022 & the Oslo-based group is still a wonderful harmony-driven unit. I’m already assuming this could’ve been a more embellished effort than a mere 4 songs since the musicians enjoy performing cover songs. But there are no disappointments here. The opening Gillian Welch cover song “One Little Song” is a blend of Abba without the sugar, a little Roches without the eccentric quirky touch & maybe a pinch of folky flavor ala the Canada’s McGarrigle Sisters. A mix of these types of voices is no mean feat. These are all excellent artists & to enable your own current to flow that smoothly is commendable.

What makes these songs buzz is their cover precision. Silver Lining doesn’t actually Americanize the songs & the “arrangements” don’t have a Euro-feeling. I guess you could say it has a Scandinavian breeze that blows through the melody. No accents or anything foreign intrude on their framework. The freshness & clarity are clearly from a different recipe than the standard American rural artists. It makes the songs stand out renewed. The Chinese may have invented pasta, but it was the Italians who put the meat & tomato sauce on it, sort of thing.

Jason Isbell’s love song “If We Were Vampires” is what’s easily interpreted by Silver Lining as The Roches/McGarrigle Sisters entity – it has edginess but not deviancy. The group knows how to diversify their vocalizations – there’s the Abba inclination (their more serious songs & not the pop confections) & when the soulful Halvor Falck Johansen performs the vintage American folk tune “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor,” (with new lyrics by Gillian Welch) it retains the Appalachian atmosphere with reverence & authenticity.

The only criticism is that these 4 songs are a tease. There should have been more. Maybe they’re just testing the waters. I think Silver Lining should do more covers along with originals – in their own exuberant way. Their approach is uncluttered & unindulgent with polished expressiveness throughout.

Tracks:
01. One Little Song
02. Right Back to It
03. If We Were Vampires
04. Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h9mcOhLACM