Verdict: Soothing (but somehow, sad) 'popchestra' music. Solid performance by the duo and Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Tracklisting:
01. Malmo Livs
02. For you and I
03. Not going anywhere
04. Sailor and Widow
05. One more trip
06. Ghost from the past
07. Where no endings end
08. Liberty
09. The world is gray
10. Inside
11. Que n'ai-je
12. Forward and reverse
13. Run in the morning sun
OK, I like all the tracks.
Not only I thought the music is carefully crafted with the orchestral pieces (hence pop + orchestra = popchestra), and FYI, this is a live album.
A little bit of the background - This also is an orchestral version of some of the individual compositions by Keren Ann & Barði Jóhannson with the orchestral pieces performed by Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. You may wanna check out their original version (I've listened Keren's acoustic version of "Not Going Anywhere" which made me appreciate more of this orchestral version)
It's a live performance and the performance + sound quality is superb.
But that also comes with the irritating part - after each and every track, it is also complimented with the audience applause - which is quite a drawback for the overall listening experience.
Yes, I, for one, would strongly suggest them to record a studio version.
You'll have cinematic feel with the first track, Malmo Livs, followed by a rather gray song, For You and I.
Situation turns a bit better with Not Going Anywhere, then a cheerful Sailor and Widow - before it turns into gray mode again.
It gets darker with: One more trip, Ghost from the past, Where no endings end
Sun rises again with Liberty, before the Nordic whines about The World is Gray.
Situation stayed the same with Inside & Que n'ai-je, and reached its worst with Forward and Reverse (check out the lyrics, and tell me if it can make your day)
(FYI, my sister likes this song and the whole album too, and she loves especially the orchestral part in the middle of that track.)
Finally, dawn is coming (again) with Run in the Morning Sun
So, even though it's a rather gray album, but it's nice to listen to.
As for the applause part - even though it's annoying, I would take it as a benchmark of the performance. The three minutes (a lot longer in real cos, it's too much?) of non-stop applause in the last track, by the audience tells a lot if they appreciated this performance.
A studio version will be all I ask for, after all.
Rating: 9.5/10
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