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A founder member of the jazz and electronica collective Jaga Jazzist and one half of Susanna and Her Magic Orchestra, Qvenild is one of the latest talents to come from the tiny yet fertile Oslo music scene. Having played with everyone from the lauded jazz singer Solveig Slettahjell to the chart-topping (well in Norway at least) pop band National Service, the twenty-eight year old has turned his attentions to the piano trio with In The Country.
In this, their second album on the impeccable Rune Grammafon label, their debut's eye-catching reinventions of the likes of Ryan Adams and Handel have been supplanted by a set of eleven Qvenild originals. Being a Scandinavian piano trio, comparisons with the more established Esbjorn Svensson Trio are perhaps inevitable and their soundworlds do turn out to be rather similar. Sharing a penchant for clean, triad-based harmonies, both bands have a masterly ability to vary texture and timbre in what is in the hands of many a rather clinical instrumentation. In The Country differs though in their preference for a much narrower range of tempos and more colouristic playing from drummer Pål Hausken, showing less interest in the groove-based rhythms of E.S.T.
Qvenild is obviously a fan of the slow burn, with the majority of the tracks here tending to start small and building to majestic climaxes. In this they are helped magnificently by the guest presence of the downtown New York guitarist and Tom Waits sideman Marc Ribot who wigs out to great effect on "Torch Singing" and "Can I Come Home Now". In fact it is Marc Ribot and the other guest Swedish veteran vocalist Stefan Sundstrom who really add a new level to the music, achieving the emotional highpoints of the album.
The downside to the slow burn of course is that the listener may find their interest extinguished before the music has ignited. This proves the case with a rather austere and unwelcoming first third of the album. Stick with it though for the likes of "Kung Fu Boys" and "Take Me Over" and your attention is rewarded.
Perhaps not for those who find most Scandinavian music rather frosty, but, if you can forgive the odd callow lyric, there's much here to be enjoyed. --Russell Finch
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Customer Reviews
An atypical piano trio, the young bunch of Norwegians are led by pianist Morten Qvenild, who also spends time as half of Susanna And The Magic Orchestra and moonlights in Shining. Mixing little bits of pop, folk, and blues into their sound, the group definitely doesn't stick to playing jazz standards, and the result is another engaging batch of music.
Opener "My Best Friend Is A Dancer" is a perfect personification of the track title, gracefully moving from light piano and bass interplay through several sections of odd time signatures and finally a more powerful finale without ever sounding like it's going to trip over its own toes. "Hello Walt" follows, and the four-minute song rolls like a well-honed pop track, with quiet sections giving way to gangbusters choruses, with Qvenild showing off some serious chops while the rhythm section gets on it behind him.
The darker sense of humor shines through brightly on "Everyone Live Their Life," another more pop/rock influenced track that incorporates some world weary vocals (including the bleak line 'Everyone's going to die / Everyone live their life') that weave perfectly into the track that gets downright lush as it fills out with loads of percussion, organs, and a chorus. On the killer "Torch - Fishing," the piano even takes a bit of a back seat as Marc Ribot joins in and lays down some fiery guitar work that seems right at home amongst the slew of versatile songs on the album.
Even more so than their debut This Was The Pace Of My Heartbeat, Losing Stones, Collecting Bones is a twisting and turning journey that isn't content to stay in one place, but isn't willfully wild or inaccessible either. You know the group isn't taking themselves too seriously when there's a track named "Kung Fu Boys" that morphs from late-nite bedroom lullaby into a luscious romp. For eleven songs and just under an hour, In The Country has created something that's great for mornings, but works at any other time as well.
(from almost cool music reviews)
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