It seems Thomas Dybdahl is huge, but you’d be forgiven for not knowing him or his work, his status as acclaimed musician and award winner even is in his native country of Norway, though Songs his sixth studio album is set to continue his slow growth in international markets.
The prolific singer/songwriter has sound-tracked films, been in bands, and featured on a Morcheeba album so it’s only right that the 14 tracks on offer here are slices of confident, simple, stylish song writing.
Songs as the title suggests is a compilation album, set to be his first world-wide full length debut, featuring songs from his previous studio albums and shows Thomas Dybdahl for what he is; a Folk musician. He’s the sort of artist you can imagine other musicians recommending, which is a massive feat, but also a massive problem. His craftsmanship is delicate and filled with intricacy, but the comparisons with the great folk guitarists and singers like Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley have already started to surface, it doesn’t help that the first song is titled ‘From Grace,’ and they are warranted; he sounds like their love child, but once you have them in your head you’d rather be listening to Grace or Bryter Later.
Like his influences Dybdahl’s sound is a stripped back affair; ‘It’s Always Been you’ is one man spilling his heart to a piano and ‘Don’t Lose Yourself’ revels in the unusual contrast of deep bellows and the light airiness of his voice which is inflected with unfamiliar tongues. It is these vocals which take centre stage throughout the album allowing you to really lose yourself in his evolving performance. The feeling that his voice is constantly changing, while not necessarily bad is at times unnerving and is one of the issues of a compilation album that spans a career which has lasted more than ten years.
‘Pale Green Eyes’ is big, emotional, Folk-Pop which features his and hers vocals of the clichéd sentimental type “baby I’m all messed up I swear/I really do want you here my dear,” nonetheless it’s a quick and easy hit that everyone can enjoy. Lyrically it’s a bit of a mixed bag with the aforementioned cheese sneaking in every once in a while, it’s bound to happen with songs like this, otherwise, this is competent song writing: “it seems I had a secret I didn’t know about till the day it poured/ it seems my secret has been bulging has been forcing its way.”
Ever the multi-instrumentalist Dybdahl here plays everything from guitar and piano to organ, banjo, and harp and he plays them all well. The instrumental freak out at the end of ‘Something Real’ is spectacular and interesting in a set of songs that deem it out of place; experimental even. The talent on show is nothing less than phenomenal and Songs is the perfect introduction to or summation of his career thus far.
Thomas Dybdahl is a brilliant artist in his own right and this is a great collection of songs that you can either relax with or immerse yourself in, but comparisons with better artists make the listener pick flaws that will ultimately guide them back to the old classics.
[Rating:4]
Release date: 06/06/2011
