Sivert Hoyem - Moon Landing

  by Andrew Carver

published: 26 / 3 / 2010

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Norwegian Sivert Hoyem got his start in Madrugada, a melancholy pop band somewhat in the vein of late-era Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Pulp and the Divine Comedy without the orchestral leanings and more of a country music feel. Over the years Hoyem and the other band members also established a solo career with a similar feel. With the end of Madrugada due to the death of guitarist Robert Buras, Hoyem has turned to his solo work fulltime with the release of ‘Moon Landing’, his third album. It’s more poppy than his Madrugada work, with a touch of radio-friendly alt-rock in the mix. Sometimes jangly, sometimes buzzing and with a strong keyboard presence it seems like a hybrid update of the less longwinded varieties of 1970s prog and country rock. ‘Belodora’ begins the album with a tumble of clean guitar notes and a tapped cymbal leading into a very Who-like crash of power chords (courtesy of Cato Salsa, best known for his eponymous garage rock band). The same tumble, with its shades of ‘Baba O’Riley’ pops up later as the song makes its exit. Hoyem’s voice turns easily to the soaring from the stentorian and it speeds the listener through the next song, ‘The Light that Falls among the Trees’. ‘Moon Landing’ is another brisk effort full of crisp guitar licks from Salsa and Borge Fjordheim’s atmospheric keyboard work. ‘What You Doin’with Him’ stands out for its fuzzy guitars and handclaps, with stabs of New Wave synth on the instrumental breaks and Hoyem’s voice set on cafe cool it’s the album's shortest and snappiest tune. ‘Going Gold' switches from synths to Hammond organ and a coruscating guitar riff at slow tempo to linger under Hoyem’s late night musings. The fuzz gets truly gnarly on ‘Lost at Sea’, with more dreamy musings from Hoyem juxtaposed by a sound nicked from Creedence Clearwater Revival, then shifting toward a poppier sound as Hoyem sends his voice upwards and turns on the melodrama. ‘Shadows/High Meseta’ strikes a moody note with some echoing guitar feedback and a vaguely Middle Eastern riff. Things speed up somewhere at the middle point, leaving Fjordheim to cut loose with some “out of this world” (at least circa 1973) synth sound effects as the song comes to an end and segues into the sleighbell-buttressed ‘Empty House’ and its trickling buzz of guitars. The album ends with the sweeping ‘Arcadian Wives'. ‘Moon Landing’ is sometimes a little short of personality, but the high points in this well-crafted cinematic pop undertaking more than make up for it.

Track Listing:-

1 Belorado
2 The Light That Falls Among the Trees
3 Moon Landing
4 What You Doin' with Him?
5 Going for Gold
6 Lost at Sea
7 Shadows/High Meseta
8 Empty House
9 High Society
10 Arcadian Wives
11 Return to Nothing Special
12 Sister Sonic Blue
13 Johnny
14 The House of the Rising Sun

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