Artist: Seigmen
Title: Enola
Genre: Ambient / Alternative Rock
Release Date: 13th April 2015
Label: Indie Recordings
Album Review
Almost two decades after their last record ‘Radiowaves’ in 1997, the Norwegian Alternative Rock band SEIGMEN is celebrating their “comeback” with ‘Enola’. Now, a lot has happened in the music industry since 1997, the internet has become a dominant social force which has also transformed the industry in a revolutionary sense. Nowadays, music is much easier to access, you just have to click on a link on Piratebay, YouTube or Amazon and voila - there it is. It is up for debate whether the internet is a blessing or a curse, I would claim it's a mix of both. But not only the purchase of music has been revolutionised, naturally, the technology has also changed and using analogue synthesizers has become an “old school” thing to do. But why am I writing all of this? When I heard that SEIGMEN's last record was released in 1997 I could only but wonder what implications this might have for ‘Enola’. Would SEIGMEN go with the flow of time or stick with their well-established style?
But SEIGMEN focus on continuance. ‘Enola’ shines with heart-felt, powerful and yet melancholy ambient songs, cheerful, powerful and sometimes even disassociated guitar arrangements and Alex Møklebust's one-of-a-kind vocals that create a room of their own for the listener to ponder, empathise, or simply wind down in. Musically, there is not much disassociation from SEIGMEN's older works which tinges ‘Enola’ with a very nostalgic sentiment. Not being a master of the Norwegian language emphasises the mystic, peculiar, out-of-this-world feeling the new SEIGMEN long player creates within me. The few song titles I can partly translate in my head let me surmise that the lyrics are of a very romantic nature and if you combine that with the melancholy that constitutes every SEIGMEN song, ‘Enola’ can be interpreted as an invitation to ponder about the nature of feelings, the advantages and disadvantages they bear within themselves.
The most fascinating thing about SEIGMEN in general is that they do create this feeling of melancholy but it is met with such force, with such strength as if the music wanted to reach out to their listeners who might be having a hard time and pull them back to the light. The importance of brotherhood and togetherness is also elucidated by the incredibly beautiful black/ white cover photo which shows the members of the band in an intimate brotherly embrace, head-to-head; executing an image of a lotus flower which emphasises the beautiful character of ‘Enola’. My personal favourite on the record is the instrumental ‘Monokrom’ because it creates a dichotomous feeling of disassociation and connectedness at the same time within me but the record is studded with great songs, whether it's the powerful and catchy opener ‘Hva vi elsker’ or the heart-felt ballad ‘Hvit Stjerne Hvit Støy’ at the end of the record.
‘Enola’ is a record about strength, of meeting one's emotions with agency and being strong enough to walk through one's own life even though it may be difficult and exhausting at times. Because even if you feel alone, ‘Enola’, your new friend, is just a grab away. On a musical level, the guitar arrangements deserve a special mention because they are so brilliantly made, whether they are playful or powerful – they are extraordinary, always on-point and definitely a trademark of SEIGMEN. It's safe to say that ‘Enola’ proves the gems hidden in the North of Europe are worth being discovered as they offer unique musical pleasures only the cold of the North can create. Now, hopefully ‘Enola’ will also reach some success outside of Norway, where SEIGMEN belong to the national music heroes, as we, the non-Norwegians, also want to experience an intimate and heartbreakingly magnificent live show by those charming gentlemen from the land of fjords! Vi elsker dere, SEIGMEN!
Tracklist
01. Hva vi Elsker
02. Trøst
03. Forevig og Alltid
04. Utopia I Mine Armer
05. Til Verdens Ende
06. Tenn Alle Lys
07. Deus
08. Monokrom
09. I Mitt Hus
10. Hvit Stjerne Hvit Støy
Line-up
Kim Ljung – bass, vocals
Alex Møklebust – vocals
Noralf Ronthi – drums
Marius Roth – guitar, vocals
Sverre Økshoff – guitar
Website
www.seigmen.no / www.facebook.com/Seigmen
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
Comments powered by CComment