Silence is golden, The Tremeloes used to sing back in the day and it has gone sort of quiet in Scandinavia for the holiday period although I think that applies more to Denmark and Sweden than Norway.
Sordal has visited NMC once before, in July 2023, when they were bidding us ‘Bon Voyage’. They clearly completed the journey because they are back now with ‘Silence’, which will also figure on an album in the autumn on Apollon Records.
It’s always a pleasure to welcome back Michael Aadal, who apart from his own eponymous band also features (on guitar) in Sordal, as does drummer Gunnar Sæter, complemented by Stein Roger Sordal (vocals/guitar and clearly the Head Honcho), Bjarne Severinsen (bass), Kenneth Silden (keys) and Ole Jørgen Bardal (sax).
Aadal’s (the band’s) forte is what I call inquisitive jazz; the sort of stuff that attracts the attention of folk like me who do not really understand jazz and have to be held by the hand.
But the format with Sordal is quite different. It is a Norwegian roots‑rock/Americana/indie pop band formed in 2008, and which has spawned an EP and five albums since, including the 80s‑styled synth‑pop record ‘Juno & Jupiter’ (2021).
Their style embraces folk, country, pop/rock, and soft rock, aka yacht rock and with occasional folk‑roots and Americana influences. Quite a melting pot and their evolution continues unabated.
Along the way they’ve toured extensively across Norway and supported acts like (get this) Bob Dylan, (not Vylan – I mean the real McCoy) John Fogerty (of CCR, and who made his comeback at Glastonbury last month having salvaged ownership of his catalogue in a battle that lasted decades) and Bryan Adams (some bloke from Canada).
For all that preamble I have to admit I wasn’t expecting this. That 80s influence is strong straight from the start and for a few seconds I thought they were playing a rocked up cover of ‘Together in Electric Dreams’.
A paean to the benefits of the sound of silence (with apologies to Art and Paul) over such assorted contrasts as screaming sirens, 1000 men marching for redemption and domestic violence, the song on several occasions threatens to break out into a full blown anthem, especially when the multi-tracked vocal arrives until it unexpectedly and quite brilliantly collapses into 44 seconds of silence to see it out.
Just the sort of song that Canadian bloke might have written. With a little help from Toto.
There is a lot to unpack in this song beyond that brief personal overview. Take your time over it. Give it a couple of hearings then take a break. Then come back to it. It will be well worth your effort.
Incidentally, Michael Aadal mentioned that his band will be playing some gigs in the UK including a double bill with Wandering Monster from Leeds on Thursday 4th September at the Carlton Club in Manchester.
Find Sordal on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sordalmusikk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sordalmusic/
Cover art by Tom Korsvold.
