Espen Lind

ESPEN LIND
"APRIL"
(Universal/Norway, 2005)


"Happy"


After taking a break from his own recording career to write and produce tracks by Beyonce (her Grammy-award-nominated single "Irreplaceable"), Chris Brown, Jessica Simpson, Ne-Yo and others, Norwegian popsmith Espen Lind returned to the recording studio in 2005 for his third album, "April". While it's not his best album thusfar (in my opinion), it's still Espen Lind, which means it's leaps and bounds above most other stuff out there.

A more understated affair than his previous album, "This Is Pop Music", Lind this time around eschews nearly all of the trippy digital trappings and layered percussive effects that made that album intriguing enough for many repeated listens. Not that this album is necessarily boring; there is something to be said for keeping things simple and straightforward. For one thing, it brings that much more attention to Lind's gorgeously flawless voice, and it makes him rely more on the strength of his songwriting ... not that he's had any problems in that area either.

Ballads are very much in the majority on this album; in fact, I have to stop and think if there's a single track whose tempo I'd call "upbeat" ... the stellar R&B-flavored "Truth Hurts" (which would sound right at home on a Chris Brown or Usher album) and the gliding mid-tempo track "Stay Away Tonight" are probably the two that come the closest. The lyrics throughout the album are often more optimistic than the music would imply, and Lind's multi-faceted talents as writer, instrumentalist and producer give the album an integrity that makes it feel like more than the sum of its parts.