Poor Bendik Brænne. Here he is on the serene Almost Mine, accompanied by damped piano and the lightest of basslines, serenading the unreciprocated love of his life: “To you I’m just somebody who’s sitting there listening/ Trying not to bother you with everything I’m going through/ Falling for you.” Here he is on Gonna Try Surfing, cunningly borrowing guitar licks and harmonies from The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, only to admit: “It’s not that easy/ I got a lot to learn.” And here he is, trying to Write You A Song, croaking softly that: “I’ve got no rhythm/ I’m always sharp” as flutes trill and syncopated, high-pitched piano chords chime around him. Despite this confession, the Spellemann Prizewinning Norwegian magically combines Elliott Smith’s hushed melancholy and Wilco’s poignant Americana, even raising a smile on the Bacharach-influenced The Most Beautiful Tune: “We’ll go together like Kenny and Warren G.”
Written by Wyndham Wallace. Released on Bendik.