Northern Lights

Rykestrasse 68
Hanne Hukkelberg
Nettwerk, 2007
4 stars

Rykestrasse 68 could only ever have been made in Scandinavia. It must be something to do with their seasons - after six months of near constant darkness, the Norwegian summer sun must just be the best thing ever. That picture in mind, this album is like the soundtrack to the sight of those first rays of summer sun creeping through the bedroom shutters. The ramshackle sea shanty ambience of Mum ebbs and flows beneath smoky vocals that evoke any number of important female chanteuses, including Bjork, Billie Holliday and Joanna Newsom. Hanne's vocals are fantastic - an exercise in control and restraint - nowhere more-so than on melancholic opening track Berlin, a tribute to the six months she recently spent living there. Picking highlights from a record this complete is pointless, though the gorgeous cover of the Pixies' Break My Body is worth a mention, and first single A Cheater's Armoury deserves to become a local radio staple. Simply beautiful.

Artwork: B+

Published in mX, Thursday 13 September 2007.