Kara Du

LOUISE HOFFSTEN – Kära Du
Samsø, 2002

SWEDEN – New interpretations of 19th century romantic folksongs. Hoffsten is joined by the jazz group EST (Esbjörn Svensson Trio), plus some miscellaneous native string instruments. The results are somewhere between folk, jazz, pop, and the blues, and remind me a lot of Holly Cole. Mixed quality, but several tracks are quite pleasant and/or interesting. The tempos are universally relaxed, but the mood is quite varied (as is Hoffsten’s vocal delivery). I like it, mostly.

Fo’s Picks: 3, 5, 9, 10, 12

01. 4:24 – very quiet and rather dull, with whispery vocal
02. 3:21 – mellow but upbeat folksy shuffle
03. 4:19 – slow blues strut, breathless vocal and a good groove
04. 5:37 – folk-pop, builds to a sort of anthem and slowly drops back
05. 4:09 – mystery blues, dirty slide guitar, some organ… haunting
06. 4:03 – catchy, happy folk/pop riff and a light, singsong vocal; dark overtones at end
07. 4:32 – turbulent pop current carries slightly anguished vocals, grows strident
08. 4:33 – unhappy atmosphere: just acoustic guitar, vocal, and quiet keyboards
09. 3:54 – striding folksy pop: all the influences working together on this one
10. 3:55 – heavy atmosphere: starts a cappella, then piano pattern, spacey synths
11. 3:35 – tragic, spare: just delicate vocal + piano (TRACK 14 is similar but more fluttery)
12. 2:12 – simple vocal melody over organ/bass duet; weird ending... is she laughing or crying?
13. 5:09 – driving bass/drums, forceful vox, jam-band jazz second half
14. 2:56 – similar to track 11 but more fluttery

[Fo] - 8/30/02