Review: Fieh – “In The Sun In The Rain”

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album: Fieh has been in business since 2014, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, her second album “In The Sun In The Rain” and subsequent Norwegian tour will do the trick. But – first they’ll get rid of two concerts in New York next week and shows at the big South By Southwest festival in Austin the week after that. The band’s ambitions!

complex mix

In the band photo, they look like a group of friends dressed up for Woodstock, with lead singer and songwriter Sofie Tollefsbøl — with matching hippie glasses — in the middle. Some of the sources of inspiration that have been introduced are also very recent: Joni Mitchell, Erica Badu, The Beatles, The Roots, Solange and D’Angelo. Funk and spice music is dominated by somewhat similar components of soul, R&B, pop and jazz, mixed together into an elegant and sometimes complex blend, written by the inner core of the band – along with producer Lars Horntveth.

triple

Fieh started as a trio, with Tollefsbøl (vocals and lyricist), Ole Øverby (drums) and Andreas Rokan (bass), but expanded to eight in his debut ‘Cold Water Burning Skin’ (2019). It was noted and praised, including in the candidacy of Spellemann. They played at Øyafestivalen already in 2018 and earned a P3 Gold nomination in the Living Artist of the Year category before debuting on their album, and many have seen after all what happens.

On the second album, they are “only” seven, at least in the band’s image. Horntveth (Jaga Jazzist et al.) could quickly qualify as an eighth member as a musician and producer. The album was also mixed by Russell Elevado, known for his work with Angélique Kidjo and mentioned D’Angelo and The Roots, so the references are well placed.

Honorsk

The first thing that strikes me when I listen to “In The Sun In The Rain” is that this sounds very funky, then it’s different and wonderfully distinctive and the third is that it’s very interesting in terms of sound. It immediately reminds me of Norwegian Your Headlights Are On, who released an album eleven years ago that ended up called Highsakite.

Fieh’s debut of 2019 was very promising, and above all he was impressively mature and forward-thinking. So expectations were high before the sequel. And – they rose up a notch. In a way, the album feels more accessible, diverse, and exciting, without being at the expense of the band’s uniqueness. They have just mastered their voice. I suspect part of this can be attributed to producer Horntveth, who is also responsible for the series’ arrangements. Kudos also to Lyder Øvreås Røed for the wind arrangements.

Introduction “Classic”

“In the Sun, in the Rain (Move Up)” It has a “classic” little prequel cut from Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, before both wind and string mingle with what sounds like a slightly dramatic “opening bang”. next one “fast food” It’s a song where Tollefsbøl’s voice and Rukan bass almost fight for attention, it’s also a bit frenetic until Horntveth’s pedal steel contributes to the charm and a tiny tempo change of tempo. The finest!

Greetings to the parish house

capturing “Phone Girl (Halden Edition)” It’s a song about phone phobia – and it’s Tollefsbøl’s apology to everyone who tries to get it: “That’s me, not you!”. Genre, here I’ve got associations with Billie Eilish, vocalist Tollefsbøl aims to have the same authority as the young star from Los Angeles.

Return to the village. Grendahus Funkadelic It is, to be precise, a funky and slightly boisterous homage to party culture at the parish house, perhaps both at Eina in Tollefsbøl in Toten and many other places, before some album gems grabbed all the attention. “All the time until when”, with loose arrangement and arrangement based on Björk’s “Venus As A Boy” and the wind, opens with chimes to set a gentle tone. as cute “English man” Followed by the massive and eye-catching song on the roof With partly Tollefsbøl talking, singing and soft wind. The other four songs were not left behind for the seven mentioned, so here you just have to dig and find the gold.

The Norwegian Tour begins in Gjøvik on March 25 and ends in Bodø on April 8. The Rockefeller will be visited in Oslo on April 6.