The Slow Painters
The Slow Painters
(Keepsecretrecords)
★★★

AS SOON as this Oslo-based quartet hit the first chords and the singer takes his cue, there's a sense of having been here before and enjoyed it.

That sense of deja vu resonates with echoes of Poco, The Byrds or Husker Du and it appeals in its easy tempos and catchy melodies of soft rock. Tracks are delivered with a  commendably gritty musicianship that isn’t surprising given that the band have been together since high school.

The gloomy Nordic alienation is accentuated by the melancholy that permeates the existentialist lyrics: “Who’s to know which day will be the last,” intone Andreas WH Lindvag and Simen Breen, while their vocals overlap in pleasantly textured harmonic duets on Drum & Snare or The Happy Murdered.

The brooding Parklights, forceful Andy And The Androids and easy-flowing About The Holidays are crisp and distinct. But is it enough? Time will tell.

Lisa Lambe
Juniper
(Blue Elan)
★★★★★

ONCE in a generation an awe-inspiring artist of Lisa Lambe's calibre makes an appearance.

Comparisons with other artists  would be facile and entirely misguided as this Dubliner’s oeuvre is is sumptuously distinct.

Lambe belongs to the European tradition of “chanson d’auteur” and her her mezzo voice has an impressive range.

She’s also mastered to perfection the skill of interpreting and projecting emotionally subtle songs with mesmerising and evocative denouements.

The arrangements for each of the 11 tracks, delivered by some virtuoso musicianship, is breathtaking, with rich tonalities harmonising beautifully around Lambe’s expressive voice as it meanders in search of emotive accents.

“With this recording, there was a huge desire in me to find the tribe of musicians and listeners to go on a completely new journey with me,” she confides.

That quest is now as good as over.

Stealing The Fire
King of Shadows
(Self-released)
★★★

IT HAS taken Norfolk trio Stealing The Fire 20 years to release their second album, King of Shadows.

A kaleidoscopic mix of prog-rock, English folk and electronica offers a vigorous, multi-layered sound that is proof definite that time-warps exist.

Tim Lane’s guitar work and Chris Bond’s keyboards and electronica are framed by the excellently compact drumming of Gary Wortley, while Ruth Murray on flute and Saffron Paffron’s otherworldly voice complete the melange.

The symphonic Fools Parade pulsates joyously while lyrics like: “We smell the truth but we eat the spin/We bite our wounds and curse the skies and no one knows if we’ll survive,” on title track King of Shadows signal a degree  of political engagement.

But with  just five tracks, two of which are instrumental, questions arise of whether it is too little, too late, and have they missed the boat?

Jury’s out.