Highasakite
Having been blown away by Norwegian quintet Highasakite's stunning set when opening for London Grammar at the El Rey last month (and I'm not the only one, if that evening's twittersphere was anything to go by), I've been eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album "Silent Treatment." It's taken me a couple of weeks or so to get around to reviewing the album (apologies for that, but the day job, not to mention my credit card taking a bit of a battering the week of the album's release - coinciding as it did with two of my French year-list shoe-ins from Catherine Leduc and Chloé Lacasse) but yes, the wait is more than worth it...
The first thing that strikes you when listening to "Silent Treatment" is what a misnomer of a title this is. This is a big, bold, rich, wildly ambitious - orchestral - album. The structure and layering of both instruments and vocals (and I'd also argue that at times lead-singer Ingrid Helene Håvik’s voice is very much an instrument) is reminiscent of the style that Groenland successfully created for their GAMIQ award winning album "The Chase."
The album opens with Håvik's plaintive delivery of the song's title, "Lover, where do you live?"; keyboards provide a simple accompaniment - a haunting lament for a love long-since passed. But then there's that soaring refrain, a symphony of keyboards - and it has to be mentioned how central the twin synths of Øystein Skar and Marte Eberson are to the band's sound - married to just-the-right-amount of over-dubbing on the vocals... and then the song comes back down to earth, reminding you that this is meant to be personal and poignant. I've mentioned previously how I love when albums make a statement with their opening-tracks, and here Highasakite have most certainly broadcast their intent.
The first thing that strikes you when listening to "Silent Treatment" is what a misnomer of a title this is. This is a big, bold, rich, wildly ambitious - orchestral - album. The structure and layering of both instruments and vocals (and I'd also argue that at times lead-singer Ingrid Helene Håvik’s voice is very much an instrument) is reminiscent of the style that Groenland successfully created for their GAMIQ award winning album "The Chase."
The album opens with Håvik's plaintive delivery of the song's title, "Lover, where do you live?"; keyboards provide a simple accompaniment - a haunting lament for a love long-since passed. But then there's that soaring refrain, a symphony of keyboards - and it has to be mentioned how central the twin synths of Øystein Skar and Marte Eberson are to the band's sound - married to just-the-right-amount of over-dubbing on the vocals... and then the song comes back down to earth, reminding you that this is meant to be personal and poignant. I've mentioned previously how I love when albums make a statement with their opening-tracks, and here Highasakite have most certainly broadcast their intent.
"Since last Wednesday", with it's steel drums and Caribbean rhythms, is a prime example of how the band expertly juxtaposition melody and lyrics. Håvik casually tosses in the lines, " And he would never buy a weapon and bring it to our home, And he would never be foolish and lie about that now..." all the while wrapping the words in a lover-rock beat.
“Leaving no traces” and "Iran" are probably the most immediate and up-tempo numbers on the album. The former features yet more deliciously disturbing lyrics; the latter sees Håvik almost tie herself in knots with her vocal dexterity - all the while the drums of Trond Bersu power the songs onwards - threatening to tip both over the edge but managing to never tear the delicate fabric of the songs apart.
In a similar vein, there's some beautiful synth-pop numbers; "I, the hand grenade" leads in with somber keyboards before rapidly evolving into a multi-textured cacophony of percussion, keyboards and note-perfect harmonies. "Hiroshima" meanders along at it’s own pace, slowly building over a pipe-organ intro before launching into soaring, floating vocals sung over a shimmering melodic beat. And while "Darth Vader" may contain some truly off-the-wall and at times nonsensical lyrics, frankly when any song sounds this good who am I to quibble?
All that being said, it is the slower numbers on the album that really stand-out , the folk-tinged "My only crime" with it's acoustic guitar accompaniment and the dark and vaguely Gothic feel of zither’s steel-guitar notes and imploring chorus of "The man on the ferry." Both act as a respite from the vivid Technicolor landscape that the band create elsewhere. Indeed, the album's closing number, the stunning "Science and blood tests," is the most stunning example of this ability to seamlessly mood change. Stick with the silence that follows... there's an aural treat at the end...
I mentioned Ingrid Helene Håvik’s vocals at the start of this blog (in fact I eulogised over her voice in my gig-review), but it's difficult to describe just how dynamic a range and style she posses. Proper music journalists - lazier than I apparently - have made no-end of comparisons to just about every stand-out female vocalist on the planet and while it is true that you can detect certain nuances, the fact is that the sum is far, far greater than any of the parts. Truthfully Håvik can sing...
Similarly, critics have tried to pin-point the musical influences to the band's sound. And while a similar scatter-gun approach can be taken, the truth is that there's a uniqueness to the way that the band have expertly layered differing musical textures one on top of another, while all the time ensuring that the resulting sound remains fresh and crisp.
In a similar vein, there's some beautiful synth-pop numbers; "I, the hand grenade" leads in with somber keyboards before rapidly evolving into a multi-textured cacophony of percussion, keyboards and note-perfect harmonies. "Hiroshima" meanders along at it’s own pace, slowly building over a pipe-organ intro before launching into soaring, floating vocals sung over a shimmering melodic beat. And while "Darth Vader" may contain some truly off-the-wall and at times nonsensical lyrics, frankly when any song sounds this good who am I to quibble?
All that being said, it is the slower numbers on the album that really stand-out , the folk-tinged "My only crime" with it's acoustic guitar accompaniment and the dark and vaguely Gothic feel of zither’s steel-guitar notes and imploring chorus of "The man on the ferry." Both act as a respite from the vivid Technicolor landscape that the band create elsewhere. Indeed, the album's closing number, the stunning "Science and blood tests," is the most stunning example of this ability to seamlessly mood change. Stick with the silence that follows... there's an aural treat at the end...
I mentioned Ingrid Helene Håvik’s vocals at the start of this blog (in fact I eulogised over her voice in my gig-review), but it's difficult to describe just how dynamic a range and style she posses. Proper music journalists - lazier than I apparently - have made no-end of comparisons to just about every stand-out female vocalist on the planet and while it is true that you can detect certain nuances, the fact is that the sum is far, far greater than any of the parts. Truthfully Håvik can sing...
Similarly, critics have tried to pin-point the musical influences to the band's sound. And while a similar scatter-gun approach can be taken, the truth is that there's a uniqueness to the way that the band have expertly layered differing musical textures one on top of another, while all the time ensuring that the resulting sound remains fresh and crisp.
Similar to the aforementioned Montréal-based (French-speaking) Groenland, Highasakite have crafted an album that draws from all corners of the musical world to create a unique and perfectly crafted style of indie-pop. One that any number of native-English speaking (or singing) artists would give their eyes-teeth to claim as their own.
"Silent Treatment" is without argument a truly outstanding debut album. If you like music that is not only creative, engaging yet at the same time challenging, you owe it to yourself to give this album a spin. In my introduction I described the album as "wildly ambitious..." I'll rephrase that - "...not only is the scope of this album wildly ambitious, but the band hit every target in the process..."
Year-list material...
"Silent Treatment" is without argument a truly outstanding debut album. If you like music that is not only creative, engaging yet at the same time challenging, you owe it to yourself to give this album a spin. In my introduction I described the album as "wildly ambitious..." I'll rephrase that - "...not only is the scope of this album wildly ambitious, but the band hit every target in the process..."
Year-list material...
Highasakite Website
Highasakite on SoundCloud
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