Kåre João "Sideman" Jester Records Trick021 2002 (40:15)
Captain Trips (7:39)
Channel Five (5:35)
Sunshine Blues (3:58)
Frank Furius (3:12)
Mission to Cure My Condition (6:22)
Love Report (4:54)
Dark of Heartness (8:35)
Late twenty-something Kåre Pedersen was born in Brazil but raised in Norway where he became an integral part of the local scenes in various bands, probably most notably with Kåre & The Cavemen (aka Euroboys). A year after their split in 2000, Pedersen began work on "Sideman", his solo debut. I've learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to music from Scandinavia. Yet I'm still a bit shocked by the catchy pop and rock hooks of Kåre's tunes (kinda like when I first opened the insert to discover him holding a gun to his head). Some reference points are easy: Spiritualized / Spacemen 3, psychedelic era Floyd and Beatles, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, etc. Anders Borne's somewhat whiny vocals are a quickly acquired taste but Kåre's (and numerous Norwegian guests) multi-instrumentation is immediately pleasing to the ear. Solid drums and fat bass guitar propel the melodic grooves as they gather layers of guitar and atmospheric swirl. Subtle production highlights like piano, slide guitar, horns, bird song and running water exquisitely enhance the moods, often building up into a wonder wall of sound. The album feels musically happy and upbeat, even in the blues of "Channel Five". Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Bortne unabashedly confronts the confusion of love on "Sunshine Blues" and "Love Report". You gotta love the organ stabs, guitar soloing and Beach Boys-styled backing vocals of the infectiously giddy "Frank Furius". "Dark of Heartness" ends it all much like it began with "Captain Trips", a longer track with several minutes of ambient decay/growth. Just another nugget from the Nordic frontiers ...
Where did I get this CD? - promo