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| Track list: 1. Lazy Days 2. Charm Attack 3. Chase 4. Lonely Boy 5. Anything 6. Chosen Family 7. Comatised 8. All I Want 9. Northern Star 10. Earthquake 11. New York Baby 12. Paper Thin Running time: 58 minutes Released: 2000 |
This album was a favourite of mine for a while back when it first came out. Another blind punt that paid off for a bit. I somehow doubt that my older, wiser, self will be as struck by it but we'll see.
I didn't know what to put for the nationality tag here, so I left it blank (first time for everything, so they say). Pan-Scandinavian parentage, London upbringing, US base. I think it's probably fair to say that the latter is the single biggest influence on her sound, but the title is spelled properly (i.e. with an s).
The opening track lives up to its name. Lazy strumming gives a very laid back feel. I am not really feeling the nostalgia though. The chorus brings with it some more life and a bit more to like, but it's all a little too low key to be really engaging. When I picked this up I was on a real kick for female singer-songwriters and quite obnoxious about it. Some of the things I picked up as a result of that mild obsession have stood the test of time for me, others have certainly not. Lazy Days suggests this might be in the latter camp, but I am pretty sure that there are better tracks than this one to come.
Like Charm Attack, for instance. This was the single and it shows immediately. There is more drive, more snap. The vocal is almost disinterested, too cool for school. It's not a sound I appreciate so much now but it was more inviting to younger ears. There is again a bit more engagement with the chorus. It's fluffy pop-light stuff but it also has a nice tempo and a decent enough change up to make me see why I liked it. That said, the closing of the track is awful, chucking out the nicest bits of the sound to build to a "big" finish.
Looking down the track list I can hear a few of them coming back to me before we get there. Some definite snorers there, but also 3-4 that I am genuinely curious to hear again.
I am fitting this in mid-morning, with a chile cooking in the oven, clothing and bedding ordered and washing done. Later in the day I will be lugging unwanted crap to the tip as part of my regime of getting stuff done during my "vacation" so this is a little interlude of calm. I am struck by how the first three tracks all have a different sound, a sequence broken when Lonely Boy returns to the overly laid-back style of Lazy Days, though it does build on it a bit more. No, scratch that. The rhythms are different here - faux Hawaiian. It really doesn't work, especially at the points where the vocal goes all strident suddenly. Any appeal this track had for me must have been based on relating to the subject of the song because musically it does not hold up at all. It feels like a melding of two things that should have been kept far apart.
I am more hopeful for the quicker, angsty, Anything. I'd rather like this one to hold up, even if there are no illusions about it being a great track.
The pace is there, as is a grungier guitar. Then when her voice goes lighter on the chorus it offsets it nicely. This, more than the preceding tracks, does indeed match my memories of the song, and I still find myself rather charmed by it. It's schlocky and daft, but the punchy tempo and the guitar work are mass-appeal, lively and fun. It's not a great song, but it is an enjoyable one.
It's a pity that pace doesn't carry forward. There is a horrible bit of casual homophobia in the opening lyrics of Chosen Family that is really jarring to hear in 2017. Combine that with the dull and soporific cadence and this song is a slow-motion car crash. The title track is still soporifically slow, but it is at least more positive in outlook. Slow tempo is not necessarily a sign of dullness, but if a track is going for a low energy approach then it is on the performer to bring something else to keep you interested. Here there is a swirling background that just about wraps me up, but the saving grace for the track is that brighter sound... rather than being slow and down, it is slow but soaring. The vocal goes a bit girl-group pop in places which is a turn off, but it just about works. The contrast between these two tracks is interesting because the pace is similar, but the overall effect and outcomes are completely at odds.
I almost get the feeling that Naess was holding back on some of these tunes. I certainly feel they would be a bit better with some more gusto. There are clear moments of crescendo in a few of the songs, but they are not followed through - it rises a bit, but doesn't commit. Take All I Want - the rise of the track suggests that she is about to cut free and thrash a statement but it doesn't dare go there, settling instead for restraint and mediocrity. It wouldn't have had to go much further to work - say to the level of Anything, which is still constrained but has enough room to run and bounce that energy around.
I guess at this point, now that it is clear that her work hasn't held my interest in the same way as some of the other artists I got into at around the same time, I should try to contrast Leona Naess with those that have, but I find that kind of thing difficult. The two names that jump out at me are Thea Gilmore and Heather Nova. These two still work for me for very different reasons. Gilmore is more incisive, wittier and a far better songwriter, but Heather Nova feels like she occupies the same sort of space as Leona Naess - woman with guitar singing mostly love songs with different twists. Nova added an edge though, more emotion transmitted through her notes and lyrics; Naess feels cold, message received but not felt, by comparison.
New York Baby is understated but it has an appealing riff, and is one of the better moments on the album. The running time of the disc is inflated by a 10 minute counter on the final song, which smells of Hidden Track Bullshit... I seem to recall that the track hidden is another version of this song, with less interest. Before we get there we get the waffle of Paper Thin.
Waif like vocals over an arty and sparse piano. Neither aspect of the song are strong.
I have found myself not getting on with Naess' voice on this listen. It's tighter, less full than I remember it and it feels genuinely weak in places. Paper Thin shows this up more than anything that went before as a result of the arrangement choice. I just don't think she has the chops for that kind of wandering tune. Happily the hidden track is not actually buried after tonnes of silence. A crowd hubbub comes in within a few seconds of the closure of the album proper, then an understated take on New York Baby does indeed strike up. Actually I find this stripped back approach to the song works surprisingly well, especially given what I just wrote about her voice not working in the lighter-touch arrangements. The key here is that this recording does convey emotion in spades, there's a longing inherent in the arrangement and the long notes. The blue sax might be taking it too far though - especially as the already stripped sound goes to the improv. percussion only after that.
Overall, well... there are some nice points and some dross to clear out. More of the latter. Fundamentally have my tastes shifted? Yes, I am listening to more folk and jazz than I was 17 years ago for a start, but I haven't entirely moved away from women with guitars. I am certainly more discerning these days, however.
The opening track lives up to its name. Lazy strumming gives a very laid back feel. I am not really feeling the nostalgia though. The chorus brings with it some more life and a bit more to like, but it's all a little too low key to be really engaging. When I picked this up I was on a real kick for female singer-songwriters and quite obnoxious about it. Some of the things I picked up as a result of that mild obsession have stood the test of time for me, others have certainly not. Lazy Days suggests this might be in the latter camp, but I am pretty sure that there are better tracks than this one to come.
Like Charm Attack, for instance. This was the single and it shows immediately. There is more drive, more snap. The vocal is almost disinterested, too cool for school. It's not a sound I appreciate so much now but it was more inviting to younger ears. There is again a bit more engagement with the chorus. It's fluffy pop-light stuff but it also has a nice tempo and a decent enough change up to make me see why I liked it. That said, the closing of the track is awful, chucking out the nicest bits of the sound to build to a "big" finish.
Looking down the track list I can hear a few of them coming back to me before we get there. Some definite snorers there, but also 3-4 that I am genuinely curious to hear again.
I am fitting this in mid-morning, with a chile cooking in the oven, clothing and bedding ordered and washing done. Later in the day I will be lugging unwanted crap to the tip as part of my regime of getting stuff done during my "vacation" so this is a little interlude of calm. I am struck by how the first three tracks all have a different sound, a sequence broken when Lonely Boy returns to the overly laid-back style of Lazy Days, though it does build on it a bit more. No, scratch that. The rhythms are different here - faux Hawaiian. It really doesn't work, especially at the points where the vocal goes all strident suddenly. Any appeal this track had for me must have been based on relating to the subject of the song because musically it does not hold up at all. It feels like a melding of two things that should have been kept far apart.
I am more hopeful for the quicker, angsty, Anything. I'd rather like this one to hold up, even if there are no illusions about it being a great track.
The pace is there, as is a grungier guitar. Then when her voice goes lighter on the chorus it offsets it nicely. This, more than the preceding tracks, does indeed match my memories of the song, and I still find myself rather charmed by it. It's schlocky and daft, but the punchy tempo and the guitar work are mass-appeal, lively and fun. It's not a great song, but it is an enjoyable one.
It's a pity that pace doesn't carry forward. There is a horrible bit of casual homophobia in the opening lyrics of Chosen Family that is really jarring to hear in 2017. Combine that with the dull and soporific cadence and this song is a slow-motion car crash. The title track is still soporifically slow, but it is at least more positive in outlook. Slow tempo is not necessarily a sign of dullness, but if a track is going for a low energy approach then it is on the performer to bring something else to keep you interested. Here there is a swirling background that just about wraps me up, but the saving grace for the track is that brighter sound... rather than being slow and down, it is slow but soaring. The vocal goes a bit girl-group pop in places which is a turn off, but it just about works. The contrast between these two tracks is interesting because the pace is similar, but the overall effect and outcomes are completely at odds.
I almost get the feeling that Naess was holding back on some of these tunes. I certainly feel they would be a bit better with some more gusto. There are clear moments of crescendo in a few of the songs, but they are not followed through - it rises a bit, but doesn't commit. Take All I Want - the rise of the track suggests that she is about to cut free and thrash a statement but it doesn't dare go there, settling instead for restraint and mediocrity. It wouldn't have had to go much further to work - say to the level of Anything, which is still constrained but has enough room to run and bounce that energy around.
I guess at this point, now that it is clear that her work hasn't held my interest in the same way as some of the other artists I got into at around the same time, I should try to contrast Leona Naess with those that have, but I find that kind of thing difficult. The two names that jump out at me are Thea Gilmore and Heather Nova. These two still work for me for very different reasons. Gilmore is more incisive, wittier and a far better songwriter, but Heather Nova feels like she occupies the same sort of space as Leona Naess - woman with guitar singing mostly love songs with different twists. Nova added an edge though, more emotion transmitted through her notes and lyrics; Naess feels cold, message received but not felt, by comparison.
New York Baby is understated but it has an appealing riff, and is one of the better moments on the album. The running time of the disc is inflated by a 10 minute counter on the final song, which smells of Hidden Track Bullshit... I seem to recall that the track hidden is another version of this song, with less interest. Before we get there we get the waffle of Paper Thin.
Waif like vocals over an arty and sparse piano. Neither aspect of the song are strong.
I have found myself not getting on with Naess' voice on this listen. It's tighter, less full than I remember it and it feels genuinely weak in places. Paper Thin shows this up more than anything that went before as a result of the arrangement choice. I just don't think she has the chops for that kind of wandering tune. Happily the hidden track is not actually buried after tonnes of silence. A crowd hubbub comes in within a few seconds of the closure of the album proper, then an understated take on New York Baby does indeed strike up. Actually I find this stripped back approach to the song works surprisingly well, especially given what I just wrote about her voice not working in the lighter-touch arrangements. The key here is that this recording does convey emotion in spades, there's a longing inherent in the arrangement and the long notes. The blue sax might be taking it too far though - especially as the already stripped sound goes to the improv. percussion only after that.
Overall, well... there are some nice points and some dross to clear out. More of the latter. Fundamentally have my tastes shifted? Yes, I am listening to more folk and jazz than I was 17 years ago for a start, but I haven't entirely moved away from women with guitars. I am certainly more discerning these days, however.
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