| Marit Larsen Under the Surface You can tell it in Marit Larsen and Marion Raven�s wardrobe: even in the capital of pop music (Scandinavia, but mostly just Sweden and Norway) the times they are a�changing. Raven�s recent solo album was prime bubble-grunge, helped along by Art Alexakis and Nikki Sixx, and its cover recalls one of Janis Joplin�s most famous photographs. Larsen�s new solo album, on the other hand, trades heavily in country-pop and in the demos that Fiona Apple left off Extraordinary Machine. It�s a far cry from M2M, and both of them are the better for it. ??Marit, more so, because the world already has Avril and Ashlee for scrunched-up-face angst rock, but nothing quite like the quirky and original Under the Surface. Because what mega-pop star in the States is going to write a song that sprinkles girlish glee on top of banjo, harmonica, lap-steel (or weeping strings, I can�t tell which), and a completely accidental sounding whistle (OK, maybe Gwen, but still)? That track�s called �Only a Fool,� by the way, and it�s brilliant. ?? �The Sinking Game� might be better. It�s a bar room ditty, full of Larsen�s ebullient caterwaul on the chorus, jazzy piano, and a percussion built around everything except hitting the snare and the bass in a straight-forward way. Oh. And a trumpet that flies in for a few seconds at the end, as though it heard the party down the block and got there just in time to join in. ??And there�s always the oft-hyped �Don�t Save Me,� which somehow merges Roxy Music, Mel & Kim (only the latter), and Barenaked Ladies. (Don�t worry, it works.) Crucially, though, even when the arrangements aren�t quite up to the task (this is rare, mind), Larsen�s voice saves what would be lesser moments. On �Solid Ground� she moves up and down, revealing monumental shifts of emotion in a moment, allowing unpredictability to reign when stridency has failed, and turning what was once a simple song into a tour de force. And when it comes together, as on �This Time Tomorrow,� the result is an unfettered joy that�s been missing from the girl-with-guitar genre for some time. Even if she�s often singing about �Poison Passion��s and �memory scar��s. ?? Now I won�t defend Under the Surface to people that are more than willing to call this AOR. But I do so for the following reasons: a) you obviously haven�t taken the time to listen to more than two songs (one of which might be �Solid Ground�), b) you�re just as bad as someone who gets frustrated when people can�t get past Jeff Mangum�s voice and c) you�re wrong. For those reading this simply looking for tips towards the best sort of pop music being made outside of the US/UK, consider this your whisper in the ear. |
| Article thanks to Tashy 2002 and www.stylusmagazine.com |