Lise Westzynthius: Heavy Dream (CD on Auditorium)

Band: Lise Westzynthius
Label: Auditorium
Title: Heavy Dream

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Band:Lise Westzynthius
Title:Heavy Dream
Reviewed By:Malcolm Carter
Date Published:11/04/2004

Label:Auditorium
Format:CD
Release Year:Label
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Finally available in the U.K., Lise’s Westzynthius' debut album , Heavy Dream', was released in her home country of Denmark in 1992.

We are a little behind here in the U.K. as Lise’s second solo album, ‘Rock, You Can Fly’, has just recently been released in Denmark.

Lise was also a member of Luksus, a band she formed in Copenhagen in 1994 with Mikael Simpson. They went on to release a couple of albums and even spent some time living in London, but Lise first came to light to many people in 2001 with her contributions to the Rhonda Harris album ‘The Trouble With…’ . Apart from her input on keyboards and co-composing a couple of songs on that album her vocals shone out there. They really were a highlight of the album. So great things were expected from this debut from the former church soprano who also sang in a chamber choir and she doesn’t disappoint.

The album consists of 11 songs, all Westzynthius originals, and apart from two tracks which she self produced, Lise has used the services of three different producers including those of Nikolaj Norlund from Rhonda Harris on three songs. With a total of four producers involved one might think that the album would be a disjointed affair. In truth all the songs have the same atmospheric sound to them and as a whole the album flows well.

For those unfamiliar with Lise’s work the best thumbnail would be the songs David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti cut with Julee Cruise, but with Stina Nordenstamalso also helping out in places. Without a doubt Lise’s vocals are much more accessible than those of Nordenstam but the overall sound, that mysterious Scandinavian cool with something unsettling always lurking under the surface, is there. It’s no surprise that Ian Caple who has worked with Nordenstam in the past produced Lise’s new album ; that sounds like something to look forward to. But for now, in the UK at least, we have ‘Heavy Sounds’.

The album starts with ‘Based On A True Story’, one of the songs Lise produced herself. She also plays all the instruments on it. The lyrics are a mixture of French (Lise also spent time in France singing in the metro) and English and the song is typical Lise. It has unusual backing, which proves to be the norm on 'Heavy Dreams'. Is that a harmonium in there or something Lise conjured out of her synthesizer? It might come across as an extremely lazy comparison due to the twin language of the lyrics but first impressions were that this song definitely wouldn’t be out of place on an early Jane Birkin album. They both have a lightness to their vocals. Lise doesn’t sound out of breath like Birkin, but there is a common airiness.

The title track, ‘Heavy Dream’, again has atmospheric backing, this time with glockenspiel adding to the texture, and Lise’s vocals again steal the show. They sound innocent but there is also something murky lurking below. ‘Cross My Heart’ and ‘Elite’ are Julee Cruise taking a wrong turn while walking in the woods and are none the worse for that.

It’s on tracks like ‘Home Run’, another of the Nikolaj Norlund produced songs, where Lise really shines though. Vocals which are pure Lise, where the previous comparisons have no place, where the innocence is all but gone and a stronger voice takes over. The music, as to be expected by now, sounds like the soundtrack to a forgotten David Lynch film this time with a recorder taking it in a different direction.

But it’s not all the tracks that are blessed with unusual sounds or instruments. The harder hitting ‘Still Life In Sthlm’, for instance, is driven along on a nagging guitar riff by producer Henrik Balling which brings a whole new dimension to the sounds on the album but even the guitar seems to be hiding behind some wall of menace.

The album has one fault, and even then I’m unsure if it’s intentional. The beauty of the acoustic song ‘French Leave’ is marred by a cracking sound which runs all through the song. It’s the kind of sound that if heard on a vinyl album years ago would have seen the album returned to the shop straightaway. I can only hope it is a fault in the disc. Lise’s music doesn’t need cheap tricks to make it sound different; she can do that quite well herself!

This is a late night / early morning record, one to chill out to or to soundtrack a dreamy Sunday morning. It’s in a class of its own; let’s hope that Lise doesn’t leave it two years before the U.K. is treated to ‘Rock, You Can Fly’.

Track Listing:

01) Based on a True Story
02) Heavy Dream
03) Cross My Heart
04) Home Run
05) Still Life in STHLM
06) French Leave
07) 1st Movement
08) Elite
09) Sensation
10) The Spectral Psalm
11) Hit-and-Run Driver

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Perfect late night/early morning debut album in the style of Julee Cruise from Scandinavian singer-songwriter Lise Westzynthius, which, despite being released in 1992 originally, has long been unavailable outsider her native Denmark

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Heavy Dream - CD
Perfect late night/early morning debut album in the style of Julee Cruise from Scandinavian singer-songwriter Lise Westzynthius, which, despite being released in 1992 originally, has long been unavailable outsider her native Denmark

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