The Best of Times

Listening Post 146. Sigrid Moldestad’s stature as a composer rests on more than her exquisite melodies. On Vere Her (Being Here) she aligns elements of nature and imagination—love and mortality, stress and relief; rain and sun; memory and hope; yesterday, today and tomorrow—finding joyful, nostalgic and melancholic beauty in life’s twists and contrasts. Though rooted in Norwegian folk, Moldestad nonetheless allows her songs to turn like flowers toward whichever genre offers the most light. In the past she has crossed into Celtic, bluegrass and American folk realms; on her sixth album, she ventures further than ever into pop/rock territory, exploring new questions with the unwavering forces of her warm, clear voice and her peerless band. In Finne meg ein topp (Find a Mountain Top) she offers a country-colored catalog of antidotes for life’s pressures—a breathtaking vista, a walk on the beach or support from a lover or friend (video 1). With Du er hausten (You Are the Autumn) she describes the comfort of encroaching darkness, searching for another set of warm toes under the blanket and longing for the opposite pole of spring (video 2). Motherhood is central to Eg vil vere her (I Want to Be Here), in which she pictures her daughter growing into adulthood and wondering if there is any way a departed parent can remain present, even if only as wind brushing her child’s cheek (video 3). A rock arrangement adds urgency to the album’s most topical song, Ikkje kom og sei (Don’t Say It), a tribute to the #MeToo movement. Captivating narratives also animate Kjære regn (Dear Rain) about Bergen, the artist’s picturesque and wet hometown; and Trappa (The Stairs), recalling a cherished childhood hiding place. With grace and wisdom, Moldestad surveys diverse places and times to underline the importance of here and now. (Grappa Musikkforlag)

Related post. Sigrid Moldestad’s greatest hits album Så ta mitt hjerte – Dei beste songane, Listening Post 78, December 2016.

Sigrid Moldestad: Så ta mitt hjerte – Dei beste songane

Finne meg ein topp/Find a Mountain Top
“A song about all confusing thoughts that can swirl in our heads from time to time. To get focused, I like to go for a mountain walk or sit by the sea. Everything feels better after these retreats. But sometimes you can’t run anymore—you have to call that friend or lover to share your innermost thoughts”

Du er hausten/You Are Autumn (song begins at 0:37)
So good those evenings when the cold makes us creep
under the duvet, preferably two and two:
One pair of cold feet finds the heat of another/Everything is fine
The rain dances on the roof like a fiery fountain

We can gaze at the stars, left over from spring/And the northern lights, dancing with its beautiful long hair
Mornings wake up with frostbite cheeks/We are wiser than before/Autumn, I am yours

Eg vil vere her/I Am Where I Want to Be
No days come back/Everything is here and now
We breathe in life and believe in hope/Until everything goes to sleep and it’s all over
But perhaps there are other laws…
So when you need me/I will sing to you!
I will be a wind that blows on your cheek
I will send a feather for you to find in the street
And I’ll cherish you as before