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Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck | Northern Blues

Northern Blues from Fireside singer.
CD, Startracker/V2

Tekst: Wilko van Iperen

Publicatiedatum: 07 november 2002

Normally Kristofer Åström, the singer of Fireside, doesn't turn to delicate songs, but his solo project evidently is a necessary outlet, for Northern Blues is his third album. Åström and his backing band Hidden Truck will soon play the Crossing Border festival. The (nowadays) Amsterdam-based festival commonly contracts smaller underground bands, whether they play rock, pop, or produce more oriental sounds, or anything else. The combination of a great selection of bands and poetry and literature recitals makes this festival a proper (but also relatively expensive) event to go to. Through the years, the festival turned out to be the perfect place for heartfelt folk-pop songs, being that, for example, Sodastream played there and also the lesser-known Knife in the Water. Kristofer Åström, for that matter, is in the right crowd.

Northern Blues starts off with 'All Lovers Hell.' Well, let's just say it: This song is the most beautiful song of this year. If there was a prize for it, I'd personally see to it that this man, from the Swedish part of the globe, gets, I imagine, a golden thumbs-up. But at the same time, this song is also the biggest problem of Northern Blues. Yes, there are songs as beautiful, but most of them really gotta grow on you. The upbeat, majestic 'All Lovers Hell' carries you to great heights with its unbelievable melody and sympathetic lyrics about insecurity within a new relationship. Every time this song comes to my ears, I naturally get in the automatic sigh-mood. With 'All Lovers Hell,' Åström almost makes the rest of the album a mission impossible. The subsequent, sometimes fragile sometimes wayward, folk-pop songs are well balanced, but the album kind of suffers the burden of that unreachable opening song. It's like having your dessert before dinner.

Of course, the other songs are also penned by Åström and therefore don 't disappoint. Breakups, insecurity in new relations, longing — it all passes by within this collection of songs. 'You Don't Know How Good You Are' and 'Defender,' for example, are subtle, fully layered songs. All instruments really add to the tunes: the piano playing, the great drums, even the unexpected ACDC guitar rhythms on 'Not There.' The calm songs are followed by lighter songs that have swing. The string and brass arrangements truly fit the album. But there are some minor points too. On the first half of the record, almost all songs reach the five-minute barrier. 'All Lovers Hell' treats us to a beautiful string arrangement as an outro, but the other songs, though, seem too drawn out. Some self-restraint would've made them more digestible. Another point of critique, by fits and starts, are the lyrics. OK, the man isn't a native-English speaker, but the lyrics tend to be a bit simple. The lyrics breathe honesty and just say what they've probably gotta say, but some more vocabulary could make a hell of a difference. That said, you should see this man perform live, if you've got the chance. It'll probably be a treat. Hope he finishes with dessert.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/kristofer-197-str-m-hidden-truck/northern-blues/2021/
Meer Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/kristofer-197-str-m-hidden-truck