So after an enforced break we're left with the dilemma of how to catch up on ALL the music we've missed this last year, and then wrap things up with our Favourite Albums of 2018. Or maybe we'll give that a break this year, and instead focus on 20 Albums we missed or something... either way, we have a lot of writing to do.
In the meantime it's been seriously remiss of us not to write anything about 'Anders Dahlberg's' solo material previously, although we did write last year about a band 'Endlings' that he featured in. Anyway we can correct that now because in 'Make it Happen' he has written a really appealing song, that should get inside you on the very first listen. So Anders is from Hønefoss in Norway (another Norwegian town that looks really beautiful...), and he released his debut album ''Dancing With Stars'' in 2016 that reached a pretty extensive and appreciative audience. After a difficult personal crisis involving a break up and the loss of his apartment, he travelled to Trondheim to work with 'Daragh Murphy' (whom was also part of the 'Endlings' project) and the result appears to have been an instant natural outpouring of musical writing that resulted in an album being completed in under a week.
'Street Serenade' is an easy listening album, with thoughtful lyrics and Americana inspired melodies, which I liked from opening track 'Rose'. 'Make it Happen' is a real highlight, it slowly builds in intensity and there are some lovely musical moments, from the engaging bass line at the start to the songs development 3 minutes in. The vocals almost sit in the background, understated and slightly fragile sounding. Please take a listen here:
'Street Serenade' is available on major streaming services, and it's well worth a listen. Please give it a try.