According to his press release, Emil Friis' third album "showcases a more soulful and playful side" to this Danish folk singer. Over the course of ten tracks, Friis sings of unanswered prayers, fading dreams and laments bitterly that nothing really lasts. If this is the man in a playful mood, I'd hate to catch him on a bad day!
If Dylan was a Dane he might enunciate words like Friis,. He mangles vowels in a manner that borders on the comical ; Nashville is rendered as Naaaaysh-ville while 'regret' and 'ruined' came out at regreet and roo-inned .
In a further nod to His Bobness, Rolling Seas could be seen as his A hard rain's gonna fall , a quest for guidance in a Godless universe with the caveat "I ain't hearing voices -I ain't got that big a head"
The title track is the most impressive of the songs and this parable of struggle can be seen as summation of what the record stands for. Friis tells of how it is "a damn shame" that the only road that leads to his destination has "so many bends". Arrival is anything but a sure thing. The journeyman's spirit is bent and all but broken. Friis tells of lonesome souls (like him?) who continue to toil yet are forced to admit grimly "Believing in yourself can be very dangerous".
|
This song has a more imaginative arrangement than the tasteful , but predictable, Americana elsewhere; the fine trumpet playing and driving rhythm giving a nice hint of Mariachi.
On this metaphorical road there are some good moments like this along the way but ultimately the mournful tone becomes too relentless - Time Changes Everything and Everything's Ruined are just two songs that offer few reasons to sustain hope.
The songs are delivered in an earnest manner as brief sermons where the "dead city everywhere" of A Smiling Face, is typical of a sense of impending doom.
It's a record that's worth dipping into but it gives few incentives to encourage the listener to stay the whole distance.
Emil Friis on MySpace
|
