Silver Lining “Heart and Mind Alike” (Independent, 2018)

Norwegian Americana? Reviewed in the UK? Why not, Americana is a broad and growing church, and all are welcome. Silver Lining are from Oslo, and have a very gentle approach, producing beautiful music with space and sparsity. With all members contributing songs and voice, harmonies are very much to the front, the acoustic and electric guitars blending nicely. At times the pedal steel sounds so ethereal as to seem divine. Acknowledged influences are Gillian Welch, Union Station & Laura Marling, flavours of which can be heard throughout.

Opener (and stand out track) ‘Week In Tennessee’ – with its tale of a love-struck couples trip – falls into prime Americana lyric territory. A lot of the album though blends, with the overall sound more notable than the individual tracks. ‘Take Me If You Want Me’ is a sweet song, but lyrics like “Take me if you want / Love me if you can / I’ll always be searching for the one who’ll understand who I am” sound trite to UK ears, though that could be a translation thing. ‘Heart and Mind Alike’ is a sound debut, an easy relaxing listen. Next time around a more distinctive set of songs could elevate this sense of togetherness to another level.

6/10
6/10

Summary

Dreamy warm chill from Norwegian four piece

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Mike Williams

Norwegian Americana has a tremendous antecdent in “Midnight Choir”