Marit Larsen

There are no bad songs on "Under The Surface". "Don't Save Me" is of course truly exceptional (like, "Negotiate With Love"/"No Good Advice"-level brilliant) and there are perhaps five other songs that are pretty fantastic, and the others are all great anyway.

As for a release date in the US, not sure. Marion Raven's just parted company with her label so she can have better worldwide distribution, but her record, while not as good, is much more US-ready. If Marit's smart (she is), she'll get a song stuffed on one of those popular shows the kids watch, M2M did appear on Dawson's Creek once, I think, after all.

Anyone know who wrote "Only a Fool"? That one is my favorite - the hooks are so endless. Most songwriters would have said "meh, good enough" after the first 3 sections, but it just keeps going and going like a play, yet feels so natural.

Guess I'll just have to keep waiting for an official U.S. release.

Nah, that's Marit Bergman.

"Come Closer" is a bit of genius on a par with "Don't Save Me", I reckon.

Here is a parody of "Under The Surface" from Norwegian comedians Bye & Rønning:
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=z3qytM-ewOQ&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3Dz3qytM-ewOQ

Sorry, wrong link, here is the correct one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4a2_N7aQuU&feature=related

(The Kent parody upthread is hilarious, but the humour will be lost on anyone who doesn't understand Scandinavian)

The new songs on her Myspace are lovely. So, so stoked for this album.

Can you say anything more about them? I can't listen at the moment. How different are they from the songs on her debut?

I dunno that it's different - but "This Is Me, This Is You" has an arrangement that is absolutely spine-tingling. Might be the best thing she's ever done.

http://www.myspace.com/maritlarsen

"If a Song Could Get Me You" is the current Norwegian singles chart topper btw.

Call me crazy, but I was listening to Matthew Shipp's One yesterday and when "Module" came on, I thought, "Wait, I've heard this somewhere else in a pop context, or something close to it," and I figured out it was "Recent Illusion." There's one part of each track that's strikingly similar (to me anyway). It's like they both tapped into the same 2006 musical inspiration ether.

Fucking hell can this girl write a chorus. I'm still not sure what I think of the whole album (maybe a bit sugary for one sitting?) but the first three tracks are just perfect.

new album out this week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fTFFwSG_4A

Fucking hell can this girl write a chorus.

^ this

I'm not really liking When the Morning Comes on first listen. it's too adult contemporary for my taste — mawkish string sections and too much fucking slide guitar, and her self-help lyrics are too close to Sara Bareilles for comfort (sample song titles: 'Shine On (Little Diamond)',
'Lean On Me, Lisa'). there aren't enough big pop choruses like 'Don't Save Me' and 'Addicted', and on the few tracks where she goes full teenpop, the melodies are nowhere near her usual standards.

oddly my favorite track is probably the album's most understated moment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q7YkmHztdw

'What If' and 'Me and the Highway' (from Spark) are two of her best songs that not enough people have heard. I guess I don't mind the mawkish string arrangements and corny Americana guitars when her songwriting is on point. maybe I need to give this album a few more listens, because Spark also disappointed me at first.

It's the first time she's the album's producer herself. I noticed that people around these parts weren't too hot on it, but I heard the single and some samples of the album and thought it was promising and the right step for her.. but I still haven't checked out the album. Enjoying the song above. I do like slide guitars a lot.

When the Morning Comes is also unusual for her in that she recorded it in Nashville with a group of American musicians. but the production/personnel changes don't make a huge difference in terms of style, since she always had a heavy hand in the arrangements of her past albums even if she didn't produce them herself. the new album is really just a logical continuation of Spark's Americana leanings...which is part of the problem for me on first listen.

this album has grown on me quite a bit. I still feel like the backing band is a little tepid, but the first 4 tracks and especially 'Before You Fell' are classic Marit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwQBK2ZEmZo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hngp80NoBtU

I love the part at 1:45 in 'Before You Fell' where she interrupts the verse after the first two lines to deliver a one-off prechorus (every line that you cross is just a line / a little more, little less every time / you're trying to fight the feeling there isn't any reason for the rise when you fall...). the shift from the brief lines of the verse to the breathless 20-syllable-long lines of the pre-chorus is clever and unexpected, and it nicely illustrates the lyrical theme of thwarted expectations.

I've grown really fond this album. I don't think she could ever write a bad song, it's just the production and band are so lacking that it's a frustrating listen.

Joni Was Right EP out tomorrow.

Taster here (horrible looking site, nice song):
http://www.baeblemusic.com/musicblog/3-31-2016/baeble-first-play-marit-larsen-pays-homage-to-joni-mitchell.html