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Magnet Attracts Simple Melancholy Beauty |
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Written by AUGUST FORTE
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Tuesday, 30 October 2007 |
Bergen, Norway’s Magnet (aka Even Johansen) specializes in the kind of lush studio pop pioneered by Brian Wilson and Lee Hazlewood. The songs on The Simple Life are shaped with a fine attention to detail, where every lyric supports the album’s overriding themes and every string and horn arrangement adds color and light to Johansen’s often-stunning songcraft.
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Magnet |  Entertainment
Art
"The Simple Life"
(Filter)
Released September 18, 2007
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Opener “The Gospel Song” boasts rolling banjo and jaunty percussion that play against forlorn lyrics. “You Got Me” follows in close fashion—funky horns and a soulful vocal delivery sooth the hurt of lines like “It’s not okay to fuck my body if you’re going to fuck with my head too.”
Elsewhere, Johansen creates breathless orchestral pop (“Count”), playful campfire sing-a-longs (“She’s Gone”) and slinky torch songs (“Volatile”), all with an undercurrent of sadness. Women leave, wounds are opened and our protagonist feels only shame and remorse.
The album closes with the spare, piano-driven “Lucid,” a haunted sketch that laments that clarity doesn’t always lead to answers, especially when it comes to relationships.
The Simple Life finds Johansen in a melancholic mood. He tackles themes like loss and betrayal directly, even as his songs take flights of fancy. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
