Nordic Music Central Viking Hero

Marte Eberson (Norway) – Young Hearts (single/track from forthcoming album)

“Young hearts, be free tonight” or so sang Rod Stewart in ‘Young Turks’, a song notable for not having the title in its lyrics. And for a moment I thought Marte Eberson had done the same but fear not, “Young hearts” is tucked away in there, albeit briefly.

I debated overlooking this single in favour of waiting for the forthcoming album. After all, the previous two singles/tracks have featured here in NMC. But I decided to run it anyway and part of the reason is to emphasise the degree of variety that has emerged in Marte’s new pop persona.

She said straight from the start – and remember that this lady who can play and write complex indie pop/rock, jazz, and classical pieces when called upon – that she wanted to develop a simplified pop/funk identity for this album, with a repetitive bass line, fewer chords, and a groove, having listened to a lot of disco music earlier in the year. That is certainly what she did on the first released track, ‘This will blow’.

And in some ways that is pretty much what she has done here. It is heavier in tone than the previous two singles, with doom laden opening combined synth, bass and drum lines that could be an artillery bombardment before transposing into an almighty flag waving anthem.

But then it throttles back unexpectedly into a softer, more subtle piano-led verse while the bridge is strident and then almost a lullaby by comparison. It’s sort of back to front but no-one ever said the ABABCB song structure was written in stone. This is more like BBACB. Marte ought to copyright it.

It’s as if her desire for simplicity was overwhelmed by a greater one for unorthodoxy, at least on this song.

Lyrically, the song hinges on the truism that “Everyone has a hunger now, to be saved from a lonesome heart.”

Quite. But lonesome hearts can be older as well as young. Perhaps ‘Old Hearts’ could be released on vinyl?

So, three songs in, and each one quite different and attention grabbing in its own way. That bodes very well indeed for the full album.

I’ve previously made the observation with Marte’s colleague in the band LÖV and previously Highasakite, Øystein Skar (aka SkarWorx), that one day he will write an absolute banger that will propel him into the Norwegian stratosphere.

And I hold that the same applies to Marte.  She edges ever closer to it and it (or they) might well be waiting for us on this album. Unfortunately I can’t offer you a release date but watch this space.

Find her on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marteebersonmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marteeberson/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.