You lost all you had, all that's good, all that's bad

I went back and forth on whether or not to write this yet--having just listened through Espen Lind's most recent solo album, April (from back in 2005), for the first time, I simultaneously had an overwhelming urge to share something from it (happens pretty much any time I listen to his stuff--if ever there's been an artist who I just want to post whole albums from because somewhere in them there's something for everyone and because only through hearing most of them can you get a feeling for how good he/she is, it's Espen), but it's far too early to really know what to say or which songs will ultimately be standouts. Espen's songs often have this weird quality of having a very strong melody that makes it so that you can instantly listen and appreciate them, but they only truly reveal themselves, open up, on repeated listens.

Unloved--this song is lush to listen to--use good headphones or speakers if you've got them, because it feels so much deeper that way. I am not a ballads girl, but Espen has an incredible way with them (though I do hope his upcoming album isn't an all ballad-fest). "When Susannah Cries" may have brought him fame, but if you haven't heard his duet with Sissel, "Where The Lost Ones Go" (recently covered by Sarah Brightman), you're missing out. Though "Unloved" is primarily piano-based, there's a deep slightly reverberating background noise that runs throughout the song, contributing to that depth I mentioned, and strings crop up occasionally to contribute to the lushness (actually, that "deep background noise" could be strings as well). Melodic, lovely, and--hmm, well, is it really sad? It's certainly not upbeat and I'd definitely say it's "moving," and reading the lyrics, you'd think it would be, and I guess it is, but with Espen's singing, it sometimes feels bitter, and despite the lush production and lyrics about emotions "kept inside," it--or rather, the character singing--sometimes feels...empty.

This is why Espen Lind drives me crazy, though; I've already posted "Joni Mitchell On The Radio," but these two songs together are still not enough to give you an idea of what he's like--"Look Like Her" is simple acoustic loveliness, I could so easily imagine Darren Hayes singing "Baby You're So Cool" (though not in his current phase--further back) and "Pop From Hell" is just so out there (I could imagine it getting Freddie Mercury comparisons, though once again, I don't know his work well enough to say) that I have no idea what to categorize it as, and those are just a few quick examples (I can't let an Espen post go by without mentioning how great "Black Sunday" is). Anyhow, you can pick up his album April from here (physical). It's sometimes worth checking eBay for it as well. I really want to do some sort of bigger feature on him in the near future, if I can think of what to say or do.

Edit: oh, and this page recently appeared, claiming to be his official MySpace--we shall see if that's true, but it would be nice for him to actually have some official presence online that we could get news from.

Next up: maybe a South African group or Maltese singer.