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Rating: "Industrial Silence". Oxymorons have always held a certain fascination for my fragile mind. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that pushed me to listen to the first album by Madrugada.
Probably, however, it is Sivert Høyem's voice that did the rest: cobalt blue, soft and deep, enveloping like a heavy wool blanket on a rainy autumn evening. Comparisons abound: Nick Cave? Jeff Buckley? Jim Morrison? Michael Stipe? Leonard Cohen? Upon closely listening, the voice of the unkempt Norwegian contains a bit of all this, in small-large doses depending on the flow of the songs.
Madrugada is a one-man band, fundamentally Høyem, shaped around his tonalities and his slender and twisted figure, and "Industrial Silence" is a clear example of this. Songs like "Vocal" or "Strange Color Blue" are watercolored by the vocal cords of the northern boy on a refined and well-crafted musical canvas but certainly not brilliant for originality. The rest flows impeccably, moving, never verbose, never banal despite its derivative nature. It is one of those albums that slips away all at once, like a tumble in the snow. In short, one of those things that, once finished, you already want to do again or, in this case, listen to again. The gloominess present in the title resonates somewhat throughout the album.
The notes are measured, melodic, electric but never harsh or abrasive, sometimes muffled with a bass in the foreground, other times more acidic with guitars played almost rustically taking the lead. The same can be said for the arrangements, meticulously crafted by Høyem himself, always perfect, sometimes even too much so. The minutes of music follow one another amid beautiful ballads (Electric, This old house, Quite emotional) leading up to the pseudo-jazz of "Terraplane" which serves as a perfect close to an album that remains to this day one of the finest milestones of European pop-rock music (and beyond) of the late '90s. A sort of "Monster" (the R.E.M. album) from the Old Continent. Not by chance, Madrugada received the blessing of Stipe, who was captivated by the baritone qualities of the Norwegian singer and the sweetness, never cloying, of the melodies.
It is not a milestone, but, in its genre, it is an album in which Madrugada reached excellent levels; levels which in the future they would only brush against with "The Deep End".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Higher (04:46)
Higher, there's no need to come down
Arising through the other ground
These people, these people don't mean a thing
But don't you think it's funny
That now they get to hear me sing
All right
We'll try this
We'll try this and see if it works
I want you just like that
Just like I
Always had you
Well, if it doesn't work
Then what we need is another try
When I'm like this
It strikes me: I'm the only one that knows you
So long, when will these hands be free
Throw life into these spinning heads
Oh, higher
There's no need to come down
Arising through the other ground
This song, this song is the same as always
Anyway I wanna shape it
Such a diamond, such a holiday
So long, when will these hands be free
Throw life into these spinning heads
Go honey, be a holiday
Go honey, be a holiday
Go honey, be a holiday
Go honey, be a holiday
06 Strange Colour Blue (05:04)
Blue
Strange colour blue
Blue
Sixteen tons on the moon
Strange colour blue
Pushing through
Coming back to you
Nearly there
Pouring rain
Oh, blue
Nearly there
Blue
Strange colour blue
Hey little mister driver man
Sixteen tons on the moon
Keep your head up
We are nearly there
I am racing
Outside and below myself
Nearly forgot myself there
Oh, everybody's sleeping now
Nearly there, yeah
And the rain will keep hammering down from overhead
Now there's a blue, blue, strange colour blue
An industrial silence singing
Let me dream of me and you
Oh, how the rain keeps coming down
Like a vein on my arm
Pour, oh, running down the window
Oh, running down the window
Like a vein on my arm, yeah
This is how we do it
This is how we do it
This is how we do it
This is how we do it
Nearly there
This is how we do it
This is how we do it
Nearly there
Oh, blue
Yeah, a colour blue
Strange colour, a colour blue
Oh, blue blue blue yeah
Strange colour, a colour blue
Yeah, a colour blue
Oh, blue blue blue, yeah
Oh, a colour blue
Keep your head up
Strange colour, a colour blue
We are nearly there
Hey little mister driver man
Nearly there
08 Electric (04:51)
pack your bag
run away
along a freeway
out of town
where the land
and the mind
it's over
it's alright
from despair
dream the sheets
spilling over
spinning round
waiting still
in the street
ain't it better
ain't it sweet
oh oh
holding holding on to you again
holding holding on to you again
don't rush it
don't rush it my love
oh
holding holding on to you
bet you lie
on your back
in the backseat
of his car
cattle black
pepper night
dylan thomas
passed around
passing out
on the floor
in the bathroom
black light veil
we don't need
once agian
sing their songs and drink their wine
oh
well how long did you stay there
well I can believe my eyes
well how long will I take this
well I can hold on, no hold on
holding holding on to you again
holding holding on to you again
I'm ready
I'm ready my love
holding holding on to you
10 Belladonna (04:18)
The night is on and on
Your head roll away
I catch it when it falls
And keep it beneath my heart
So what have we become
More than a skin and bone
Oh, what could beat this love
It's so parallel
This is when we awake
This is where we don't ache
I see the sun burn it's never quite as close
As the only one and I
I can hardly wait
Again this sweet, sweet song
Oh, give me what you take
And give me all that sleazy
Give me what never ends
So what have we become
More than a skin and bones
And when do we come down
I don't care anymore
This is when we awake
This is where we don't ache
I see the sun burn it's never quite as close
As the only one and I, I can hardly wait
I see the sun burn it's never quite as close
As the only one and I can hardly wait
13 Terraplane (04:05)
Lord, throw your mercy down
And burn, burn me to, to the ground
Oh, I'm gonna ride that terraplane to the ground, now
I'm gonna ride that terraplane
I'm gonna ride it to the ground
To the ground
So you send your mercy down
Oh, Oh I'm gonna fall
I'm gonna ride that terraplane
I'm gonna ride that terraplane to the ground
To the ground
Oh
I'm gonna ride that terraplane
I'm gonna ride it to the ground
I'm gonna ride that terraplane
I'm gonna ride it to the ground
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