Swedes excellent bitter sweet debut - went ‘Gold’ in two weeks in Sweden. Tim Rice is a big fan.
When the voice of Oh Laura’s Frida Ohrn hit our TV screens on last year’s
SAAB advert, singing Release Me, I was stunned, really. It was seen by a staggering 240 million viewers.
On first hearing, it sounded like Bjork, but soon realised the song wasn’t bonkers
enough, so some internet trawling ensued until she was tracked down. In all, 50,000
downloads were registered from the SAAB website alone. I was one of them.
BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris described like her like this "It sounds like a whole
life has been lived through Frida’s vocals."
And so it is, somewhere between Bjork, and Roisin Murphy’s huskiness. This incredible
blonde babe now gets a chance to show what she can do on the band’s debut which
runs - in at around a short and sweet 35 minutes. She hasn’t written any songs,
so she’s left to front and only sing and play the odd bit of harmonica.
The single, Release Me was a sensation in their native Sweden, with hopefully,
the album due to make waves in the UK. This five-piece from Stockholm knew they
were onto a winner with Frida’s vocal talents which are adaptable for this folky
pop bonanza, though nothing quite matches Release Me. The songs are very good
indeed which make for a pleasurable listen, sometimes veering into Fairground Attraction
territory.
At the core of all their work is a deep sense of gorgeous melody and harmony,
even when they clash with unsettling lyrics on Black and Blue – "Beat me
black and blue / As long as you forgive me (repeat) / Lock me in your room /
As long as you are with me / Honey, there ain’t nothing I wont do," she sings
lovingly as the tables are turned by her lover.
If Release Me doesn’t make the national airwaves, then chirpy Fine Line’s
radio friendliness will do the trick. Their folk influences surface on the
divine melancholic ballad Raining In New York. It ambles along nicely, until swaying
strings boost the chorus with Frida’s voice at its peak, and heart warmingly
beautiful.
She describes the album as a love story, "But a fragile love story where
something uncomfortable and uncertain is ever present", highlighted by the
dark Killer On The Road, which has some fine Latino brass breaks.
Thunderbird Motel opens much like Chris Isaac’s Blue Hotel with its
jangly guitar strums, turning into a simple but effective Americana ballad.
1. A Call To Arms
2. It Ain’t Enough
3. Release Me
4. Black N’ Blue
5. Fine Line
6. Raining In New York
7. Out Of Bounds
8. Killer On The Road
9. The Mess You Left Behind
10. Thunderbird Motel
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
