Blystad – Blystad
Blystad – Blystad – Album Review
Ooooo! You had me at hello, Blystad.
How could I not feel that way, or anyone not feel that way for that matter? You put on this self-titled album and it begins with the spellbinding smoothness of “Solvending,” and you’re pretty much witnessing the audible definition of what enchantment sounds like. I’m loving it! It’s got a brilliant fluidity to it that you rarely find, with guitar textures and tones that slide straight into your ears with zero resistance whatsoever. “Solvending” has a hint of charm, a bit of mystery, a little culture to it as well…I mean…it’s just straight up wonderful to listen to, full stop. Closest comparison I can make would be to our own Canadian heroes on this side of the map in The Tea Party, and listening to a guitarist like Jeff Martin play the 12-string on songs like “The Badger” and “Winter Solstice.” Even though the sound itself is comparable on an instrumentational level…I gotta admit, The Tea Party didn’t get such sparkling production like you’ll hear on “Solvending” until way later into their career. So credit where credit is due – not only is the musicianship completely outstanding and on display from the very first seconds of your experience with Blystad, but so too is the crystal clarity in the production from the PPXP crew to go along with it. Co-produced with Jonas Raabe, “Solvending” signals victory very early on in this lineup of songs, highlighting the fact that this is certain to be no ordinary debut – and you KNOW I’m here for it.
From what I understand, Anders Blystad is joined by two members of a band called Actionfredag, which appear throughout the majority of this set-list of songs. Notably, you can’t help but acknowledge how much they contribute early on in the record on “Komorebi,” which has Ola Mile Bruland on the double bass, and Katrina Sjøberg adding extraordinary ethereal vocals that will captivate the living daylights outta ya. Beyond impressive when they all play together, truly. While there’s no doubt about the fact that they’re playing a highly artistic style of music – and instrumental at that – the mesmerizing allure of their combined sound should be strong enough to entice at least SOME of the mainstream into listening. Good lord…I mean…I certainly HOPE that it will. People can’t REALLY resist the sound of a song like “Komorebi,” can they? Listen to those sensational harmonics from Anders on the guitar in this song! Listen to the perfect way that Ola slides right into place and complements his acoustic sound so well! Listen to the amazing vocals of Katrina, will ya!?! This is spellbinding stuff to say the very least, and fully memorable on a sensory level. You feel music like this at the core of your soul, and never want to miss out on a single solitary second of everything coming through your speakers on a song like “Komorebi.”
The attention to detail is staggering, truly. I listen to a song like “Sjovn” and can instantly hear all the many intricacies and complexities involved that would threaten its perfection, and I’m genuinely astounded by its flawlessness. On a personal level, I recognize that we all listen to music for a whole variety of reasons, and that for myself personally, I enjoy hearing unique, different, authentic & artistic artists & bands out there, like Blystad. I know that’s not the case for everyone out there, and no matter how good this really is, which let me be clear – it IS – Blystad is still going to have an uphill battle in convincing the masses that they’ll enjoy a record like this. Having said that, if you can conceptualize how difficult it would have been for an artist like José González to penetrate the mainstream, or the artistic creations of a band like Stereolab at one point in time…history has proven that they were both able to beat the odds and form lifelong careers from their passions and adherence to their artistic vision on what their music could be without compromise. I feel like both González & Stereolab are justifiable comparisons, and potentially reveal the blueprint for an artist like Blystad to follow in getting his music out there worldwide. Probably more-so González than anything else at the end of the day, but the point remains the same – there are those out there on the fringes that are so damn good at what they do that the people practically can’t help but listen. As I spun my way through “Sjovn,” I couldn’t help but feel like Blystad’s debut is about to shift this guy’s entire life into a lifelong journey & career to be proud of.
The depth in the musicianship runs so freakin’ deep it’s practically mythical…and we kinda have to look at Anders Blystad as the proverbial unicorn we always believed could exist. Some of the ideas you’ll witness in “On The Porch” in its hybrid blend of analog/digital sound, will honestly blow your mind. If you have technical knowledge, you’ll be equally thrilled about the ambitious way a song like this is designed & executed with such impeccable detail, but even if you don’t, just hearing the incredible level of imagination in the ideas themselves should have you running back to your player to push repeat on a song like “On The Porch” again & again. For the first independent release on PPXP Records, outside of their own music, the Polyphonic Exophilia crew have found an absolutely extraordinary artist to introduce to the world, and I seriously can’t thank them enough. Talent recognizes talent at the end of the day, and if this is the kind of creativity, art, and high standards that the PPXP crew wants to work with, any artist or band that ends up on their label should truly be honored to be a part of the magic. I couldn’t get enough of “On The Porch” – I love the way that Anders plays, I love the outstanding work that Ola has been putting into the bass along the way, and the additional sounds coming in from the synth on this track were completely & totally brilliant. The amount of character you’ll find in this one song alone reveals an album’s worth of fascinating ideas…I really can’t say enough about Blystad and all the work that has gone into this record. Do yourself a favor and make sure you get a copy of this album.
The clarity alone should give you freakin’ chills y’all. I listen to a track like “Nigredo” and feel like it’s built for soundtracks to mysterious & creepy shows like Yellowjackets…you know…stuff where we have no idea where it’s really going to go, but can’t look away or curb our desire to follow along. “Nigredo” is ultimately an excellent example of how to create compelling, cross-cultural sound that transcends borders to deliver a slice of something different we can all enjoy on a wide variety of levels. From the curious sounds that entice you in, to the enchanting vocals of Sjøberg continuously stimulating the mind, to the absolutely exquisite musicianship displayed by Anders throughout “Nigredo,” you have to really admire how compelling each track on Blystad is. It’s highly interesting to me in the sense that, I think there’s such a wide range for how something like “Nigredo,” or indeed this entire album, could potentially be received by listening ears…like…as in, we might all have our own different interpretations of what we’re hearing. I would fully understand someone describing what they hear as gentle, peaceful and soothing in a way that’s built for background listening, every bit as much as I would get someone else saying they sat on the edge of their seat to listen to every ticking moment, completely engaged with every song on the record. For myself personally, Blystad had me wanting to stick my whole damn head right into my speakers just so I could get that much closer to the extraordinary sound coming out of’em! I am genuinely fascinated by “Nigredo” & the meticulously thoughtful composition of its artistic design.
Again…we’re all gonna hear this album in different ways and have our own individual reactions to it. I know there are going to be some folks out there that will require convincing that the material is diverse enough to retain their interest all the way through – that’s going to be a reality that Blystad will likely face with some of the audience out there. Even when you get to a track like “Albedo” for example, where there are noticeable differences, they’re still going to be largely perceived as subtle and slight by the masses tuning in. For the dedicated listeners, musicians, and fans out there, it’ll be easy to recognize the uniqueness between tracks…but for the casual folks just passing by, there is a chance that a lot of Blystad is going to sound fairly similar to them, because each track really does possess the same core ingredients most of the time. That’s why something like “On The Porch” is likely to be more of an effective track in luring in a few more listeners, or convincing those on the fence that Blystad has more to offer their ears than they might realize. For the more dedicated ears amongst us, they’d notice right away that say, the radiant sound of Sjøberg’s vocals on “Albedo” lightens-up melodically, and reaches a stunning angelic sound that is as beautiful as it is mysterious. She’s got such a wonderful voice when it comes right down to it…her performance on “Albedo” is remarkably understated, yet still so incredibly bold at the same time…you can hear how much technique she has by the way she elevates the music with the professionalism she adds in finding unique pairings between her vocals & the instrumentation.
Where I believe that Sjøberg deserves even more credit, is the fact that she has sung the songs on this record through vocalizations instead of the use of actual words. It’s not as easy to do as some of you might think…in fact, more often than not, when you try to do this yourself, you’ll end up singing a word or two by accident, simply because most of our imaginations are fairly limited in what we come up with. Katrina continuously shows us what an asset she is to this record through what she brings to the music, even if the addition of vocalizations is also going to play a large part in what convinces the average everyday set of ears that much of the material is more similar than they might recognize for its diversity. Ultimately, Sjøberg uses her voice as another layer of instrumentation on the songs of Blystad, and the more folks that recognize that as her approach, the more receptive they’ll likely be to what they hear. Sometimes people just need to find clever ways to trick themselves into understanding or listening to something they might not normally get exposed to, but in the end, broadening our palette enriches our lives in ways we’d never be able to fully describe. Is my life BETTER because I’ve listened to “Citrinitas?” Absolutely, YES! Can I truly explain how, or why that is? Hell no! Not precisely enough to satisfy my own desire to communicate it to you – but that’s the natural result when you’re trying to explain what we feel through art & music…it defies the simplicity of words. We feel songs like “Citrinitas” more than we can fully grasp the ability to explain what it is we’re actually experiencing as we listen to it. It’s a profoundly unique feeling – that much we know – but beyond that, it’s very hard to explain. What we can take out of a song like “Citrinitas” or the Blystad record that we can all understand on a universal level, is that it does indeed make us feel SOMETHING. These songs stir our soul, imagination, hearts, and minds in ways that other music just doesn’t…and while that defies any kind of realistic description, each and every one of us listening to this lineup of songs would know exactly what I’m talking about.
Wrapping up with the mystical sounds of “Rubedo” – you’ve gotta hand it to everyone involved with this record, who all clearly prioritized bringing their best to assist Anders in getting the very best outta his debut. From the clarity in the mastering from Jocob Holm-Lopo, to the brilliant artwork contributed by Martine Solstad Larsen, to the insight by the PPXP crew in knowing this was the right choice to add to their label and put out there as the first artist to introduce to us beyond their own remarkable music, there are a lot of hands involved in making a record like this one as great as it is. It takes a village, as they say. I mean…they tend to say that about raising children & all, but I feel like it has always equally applied to the creation of the best albums & music we’ve heard as well. Don’t get me wrong…you’ll hear the exceptional skill of Anders on a track like “Rubedo” and know he would be more than capable of going a long, long way with his music if he was left to his own devices and talents – all I’m saying is that with the skillful team surrounding him & artists like Ola & Katrina onboard, he’ll be able to go that much further as a result. He deserves it! Music like this should absolutely be heard, and celebrated for the magnificent triumph that it is. Blystad is essentially flawless from start to finish in my opinion, and while that sets the bar ridiculously high to start a career in the scenario of a debut, we can only marvel at the achievement it truly is, and sit here in awe when considering how much more he’ll go on to do over the course of his future ahead. I loved every second of this album and already can’t wait for the next – Anders is an undeniable talent, visionary artist & gifted musician that you’ve gotta hear this year.
Blystad comes out officially on January 17th – find out more about him from the official page at PPXP Records here: https://ppxp.no/blystad
Fun fact – did you know some of the most capable minds and amazing musicians you’ve ever known STILL can’t find the right way to submit their music to us? You’d think it’d be easy, given that it’s right there on the main page of our site, yet the battle still continues! Click here to be the next up on our pages – it’s really that simple!
