Marte Eberson continues with her single releases prior to her second full length album, which will be released later in the year.
In the previous single, ‘Paradise’, she reflected on how the simplest of moments can be the most valuable for the soul – the scent of a flower (or of a woman, with a nod to Al Pacino); the heat of the sun on your skin (plenty of that in both the UK and Norway just now); or hearing a long forgotten song on the radio.
‘Paradise’ was a notably upbeat song but with this follow up, ‘Hold you again’, the tone is distinctly more melancholic as she touches on someone she cannot touch any longer, let alone hold, and about the inherent misery of missing someone.
It is a song that in some ways could not have been released at a worse time (and in fact was delayed by a week) following the sudden and untimely death of a fellow musician and close friend but in a way I suspect ‘Hold you again’ will prove to be cathartic to her.
For the first time that I am aware of in her solo career she has teamed up with a male vocalist, Paal Flaata, best known as front man of Midnight Choir, and whose sweet, soulful, dulcet tenor tones not only add much to the song but also encourage Marte to raise her own game even higher.
The result is a sumptuous heart wrencher of a duet that bears comparison with the leading male/female ballads of the last 50 years – your Diana Ross & Lionel Richie/Peaches & Herb/Elton John & Kiki Dee/Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton/Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. All of them.
It really is that good. Trust me.
And “The times look forward but here I stay/looking for you in yesterday” is probably the smartest lyric I’ve heard this year.
And a nod here to the producer, Lars Voldsdal for bringing back more than just a mere flavour of the rich production of those grand previous era masterpieces.
I could listen to it on loop all the way to London and back, never mind the supermarket.
You really don’t hear songs of this emotional depth and quality these days and if Marte has been debating which style she should pursue I do believe she just found it.
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