Silver Lining – Four Little Songs EP
This is a Norwegian indie folk quartet celebrating their 10th anniversary with a 4-song EP simply titled Four Little Songs (Drops October 3/Die With Your Boots On Records/Jansen Records/Black Pop/PEKULA). This is the first time the group has recorded what they often do during their live concerts: cover songs. There are two Gillian Welch tunes, a Jason Isbell song, & a composition by Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman. Produced by Silver Lining & Øyvind Blomsrøm.
I reviewed this band in 2022 & the Oslo-based group is still a wonderful harmony-driven unit. I’m already assuming this could’ve been a more embellished effort than a mere 4 songs since the musicians enjoy performing cover songs. But there are no disappointments here. The opening Gillian Welch cover song “One Little Song” is a blend of Abba without the sugar, a little Roches without the eccentric quirky touch & maybe a pinch of folky flavor ala the Canada’s McGarrigle Sisters. A mix of these types of voices is no mean feat. These are all excellent artists & to enable your own current to flow that smoothly is commendable.
What makes these songs buzz is their cover precision. Silver Lining doesn’t actually Americanize the songs & the “arrangements” don’t have a Euro-feeling. I guess you could say it has a Scandinavian breeze that blows through the melody. No accents or anything foreign intrude on their framework. The freshness & clarity are clearly from a different recipe than the standard American rural artists. It makes the songs stand out renewed. The Chinese may have invented pasta, but it was the Italians who put the meat & tomato sauce on it, sort of thing.
Jason Isbell’s love song “If We Were Vampires” is what’s easily interpreted by Silver Lining as The Roches/McGarrigle Sisters entity – it has edginess but not deviancy. The group knows how to diversify their vocalizations – there’s the Abba inclination (their more serious songs & not the pop confections) & when the soulful Halvor Falck Johansen performs the vintage American folk tune “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor,” (with new lyrics by Gillian Welch) it retains the Appalachian atmosphere with reverence & authenticity.
Where did you say this group was from? Oslo?
The only criticism is that these 4 songs are a tease. There should have been more. Maybe they’re just testing the waters. I think Silver Lining should do more covers along with originals – in their own exuberant way. Their approach is uncluttered & unindulgent with polished expressiveness throughout.
Highlights – “One Little Song,” “If We Were Vampires,” & “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor.”
Musicians – Stine Andreassen (vocals/acoustic & electric guitars/percussion), Bjørnar Ekse Brandseth (electric & baritone guitars/pedal steel & dobro), Halvor Falck Johansen (vocals/acoustic guitar/percussion), & Live Miranda Solberg (vocals/acoustic guitar).
CD cover photo courtesy of Malin Pettersen.
CD @ Bandcamp & Amazon https://silverliningnorway.bandcamp.com/album/four-little-songs
Previous Review: https://americanahighways.org/2022/05/10/review-silver-lining-go-out-nowhere/