Melody Mountain

Very ethereal, mostly minimal ballads-- and, an album of covers.

Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrod has a unique way of making a song her own, and to fill the lyrics with the emotional content they require.* This was made very clear with her stunning interpretation of Dolly Parton's classic 'Jolene' recorded for the duo's debut album 'List of Lights and Buoys' (2004)-- a song covered by many artists, but seldom with such heartfelt sincerity.

With Melody Mountain they have chosen to do an album of only interpretations, some quite radical, of mostly well-known songs, all personal and moving (and slowed-down, usually) performances with Morten Qvenild's naked and to the bone playing an important part of the overall soundscape.

best: 3, 5, 8* (4, 7, 10 also strong)* FCC clean

(1) (Leonard Cohen) 'Hallelujah'* (begins with a whisper, close to
acapella, faint keyboard and 4AD-ish [or 'In This World'-era Cindytalk]
background string-like arrangements)
(2) (AC/DC) 'It's A Long Way To The Top'* (stark harpsichord)
(3) (Matt Burt) 'These Days' (piano, sparse, excellent)
(4) (Prince) 'Condition Of The Heart' (most radio-accessible track, in the commercial sense)
(5) (Joy Division) 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' (amazing, I think electronic keyboards, slow)
(6) (KISS) 'Crazy, Crazy Nights' (similar rhythm/structure to #1)
(7) (Bob Dylan) 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' (sparse instrumentation, gets more developed with about 2:20 left, then sparse again with about 1:00 left)
(8) (Scott Walker) 'It's Raining Today' (echoic vocals interplaying with similar ambient-ish echoic synth a la Harold Budd, vocals become more prominent with 2:05 left, really good if you're patient)
(9) (Depeche Mode) 'Enjoy The Silence' (similar instrumentation to #5, but with one more layer of Budd-ish ambience)
(10) (Fairport Convention) 'Fotheringay' (synth-woodwind sound)