BBC Review
It is difficult to see where they go from here.
Tom Hocknell 2009-07-07
A-Ha bowed out in 1993, usurped in teen bedrooms by Take That, and in the charts by novelty rave; it was not their finest hour. Seven years later, they reappeared with the wistful Minor Earth, Major Sky. Their ninth album Foot of the Mountain is a welcome return to the electronica of their early hits and a glorious reminder of their soaring melodies.
Since their return, A-Ha Mk 2 have distanced themselves from their 'pin-up period' with anthemic, chiming guitar pop, so it is ironic this album returns to their debut sound. For most bands, returning to their roots involves stripping back on studio polish. For A-ha, it is the opposite and dance producer Steve Osborne brings an early 80s Depeche Mode sheen to elegant, simple riff-led, songs.
The sad heart at many of A-ha songs is often overlooked, and here Real Meaning unfolds with a plaintive piano motif and brilliantly dispenses with a chorus; it's heart breaking, as is the strings-soaked Shadowside. Despite lyrics that probably make more sense in Norwegian, there's a profound yearning throughout, suggesting Scandinavian winters cut more than cheekbones. Most importantly, Morten Harket's voice, already a national treasure, has matured, competing with the late Billy Mackenzie for pop's greatest voice.
As with earlier work, Morten has not contributed to songwriting, which judging by recent efforts is a shame. However, his increasing eccentricities have resulted in songs about orchids. Their solo careers are evidenced by occasional jostling for the microphone, though Pal and Mags successfully underpin Morten with weighty melodies such as on The Bandstand, which has most in common with Take On Me.
The title track is assuredly Keane-esque, but the album is not perfect. There are moments of poor judgement such as the shaky combination of a Rough Guide to Space Travel and Bontempi organ on Start the Simulator. However, while continuing their trend for imperfect albums, this brings A-ha mk2 full circle, dovetailing so neatly with their original sound that it is difficult to see where they go from here.
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Comments
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Is this what I'm paying a licence fee for. For someone to review a band that had died by 1987. Please attempt to be even half-heartedly relevant.
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Actually, I thought this was balanced and insightful. I'm a fan of later period a-ha and am quite interested to hear they've gone back to the electronica sound of their 80s hey-day. The comment by toftlea is bizarre. You just read the review, they've been making albums and selling out decent sized venues for the last 25 years. They may be off your radar, in which case can I suggest you get value for your licence fee elsewhere, there's plenty of content to allow you to get your money's worth.
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I'd say "Foot of the Mountain" is the best collection of A-ha songs put out since their debut.
Sure they have great songs on every collection, this one plays start to finish without a missing a beat.
Morten Harkets vocals really have no peers in the
world of pop-rock music. The songs just all work
together. The Bandstand, Riding the Crest, Foot of
the Mountain all help make this cd get noticed but
you'll also find other gems, Sunny Mystery, Shadowside, What it is, The real thing. Nothing is
keeping you here just soars and Start the simulator
is clever and ends this excellent collection with
so much mystery, they way I like A-ha. Sure some
lyrics are out their but this group continues to
put out classy music. You'll find touches of Depeche Mode, Keane, Coldplay, some Beatles and
Moody Blues come to my mind. Its nice they've
decided to rekindle their 80's synth sound and
wrap it into todays rock sounds. Their still like
no one else. Timeless stuff.
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I think mozbloke hit the nail on the head, toftlea. A-ha are as relevant as any other band out there producing music. I've been a fan since my first ever music purchase, Hunting High and Low. I find their blend of harmonies and electronica refreshing in an age pop superficial, five-minute wonder 'pop' groups searching for the quick road to fame and a fat bank account. Good on them for keeping going and continuing to produce original material.
For toftlea's benefit: Relevant adj directly connected with or related to the matter in hand (Chambers Pocket Dictionary). Mr Hocknell's review was about the resurgance of a popular 80s band and how well they have adapted to the current market without compromising on their musical roots. The release of a new album is therefore more than relevant to anyone with more than a passing interest in popular music culture.
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I happyly pay my fees and much more for this album. It's fantastic and I just love the fact that it's the band writing their own music. When Analogue came out in 2005 I loved it and this one is another gem in a-ha's crown.
Let's be honest here there are few bands/artist that have talent like this to keep going for so long, stay true to themselves and write their own music. Although I wouldn't have chosen Foot of the mountain as their first single as riding the crest I would have thought would get a better response from the audiences, but no doubt they will do well with this.
The one thing I am hoping is that people will not keep going on about Take on me, as after 9 amazing studio albums they deserve better. So please listen to more then just one song before you make up your mind!
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I've been a fan of A-ha since "Take on me" came out and truly believe with every album release they've gotten better and better. Its a sad shame however that they've become overlooked in musical terms. Their last Album Analogue was absolutely incredible and would I would argue Keane are A-ha-esque. They are the originals..
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They are the true "Keepers of the Flame"
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@Toftlea: Pretty snide remark there. Clearly you haven;t followed a-ha's career since the 80s. A shame since you are missing out on a lot of terrific music. Putting on an elitist music snobbery hat just makes you look ridiculous i'm afraid.
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It's interesting too read that one title in the album is "Keane-esque." As far as I know, Keane was just a little boy when A-ha used the sounds that Keane today so shamelessly uses. Be that as it may, comparing A-ha's music and lyrics to pop-corns like Keanue makes one sceptical about how objective Tom Hocknell is. Is it maybe because Keane is British that he is mentioned in this article? A-ha and that little kid are definitly not on the same leaugue and I have no doubt Tom Hocknell is well aware of this.
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This is one of the best albums AHA have put out. Mind you I can not think of a bad one.
Every track is good & catchie. Just wish the rest of the public were made aware of how good they are, with the same type of media frenzy that a modern band gets. Or the likes of the rolling stones.
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