Overview
Music for People in Trouble is the fifth studio album by Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør, released on 8 September 2017 through Bella Union. Recorded with longtime collaborator Jørgen Træen in breaks between Sundfør's travels across the world, the album represents a departure from the synth-pop of Ten Love Songs (2015) in favor of a return to her roots as a folk singer-songwriter. The album received highly positive reviews from music critics, with some calling it her best work to date. It debuted at number one on the Norwegian album charts, making it her fourth consecutive album to achieve this feat. The album was supported by two singles, "Undercover" and "Mountaineers". The first was released as the album's lead single on 6 June, and the latter, which features American singer-songwriter John Grant, on 24 July.
Background
Sundfør released her fourth studio album, Ten Love Songs, on 16 February 2015. The album showcased Sundfør experimenting with an electronic dance pop sound alongside textured orchestral arrangements. The album was considered to be Sundfør's international breakthrough, while also debuting at number one in Norway, receiving universal acclaim from music critics and appearing on various year-end lists. She later went on tour in promotion of the album. Sundfør has stated that after she finished the album she became physically and mentally ill: "I was getting flu all the time. Depression, anxiety. It's taken me a long time to get back again.
I was wobbling and...I'm still struggling with it." She believes this was partly a result of almost every aspect of the album's making, including production, composition, mixing and recording, which she mostly worked on by herself, but also as a result of the album's themes, "in which she delved into her own life to examine the links between extreme love and violent hatred." It was shortly after when she began work on Music for People in Trouble.
Writing and recording
In a November 2015 interview, Sundfør stated that she was working on the album, calling it "very cosmic" and added that a lot of the inspiration for it came from reading the book A Universe from Nothing. The album was mainly inspired by a journey Sundfør made, "travelling across continents to contrary environments and politically contrasting worlds from North Korea to the Amazon jungle." She stated: " The trips made me focus on something other than myself; it made me curious and hungry for new impressions and new motives for my photography. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how it affected my music, but all experiences are potentially inspiring for creativity. I didn't travel to write; I traveled to take pictures, which to me is an important part of the album. that emptiness is the place where things start to grow. Most of the universe is empty.
So, I'm not afraid of that anymore." She also cited American poet Robert Bly's 1980 anthology News of the Universe as one of the album's inspirations. Sundfør wrote most of the songs "in bed in Dalston, looking at foxes pooping in the garden", with an ease she hadn't experienced since her self-titled debut album (2007). She began writing all the "guitar songs" at home in London, while she later traveled to Los Angeles and wrote "Good Luck Bad Luck" and "No One Believes in Love Anymore". She then went back to London and wrote "Mountaineers", followed by "Bedtime Stories" at a cabin in Woodstock, with the final track she wrote for the album being "The Golden Age".
Unlike the self-produced Ten Love Songs, which led her to depression, Sundfør decided not to try and do everything herself this time, and worked with longtime collaborator Jørgen Træen, which she thought "was a very good idea." The recording of the album was completed in 2016 in Bergen.
Music and lyrics
Music for People in Trouble represents a departure from the synth-heavy, "disco-infused prog" Ten Love Songs (2015), with a stripped back focus on Sundfør's "high, plangent" voice and acoustic guitar and piano. Characterized primarily as an art pop and folk album, Music for People in Trouble also incorporates jazz, ambient, chamber pop, country, drone and musique concrète. The Daily Telegraph described the album's subject matter as "dark, conflating a destructive personal relationship with environmental damage, heartbreak and climate change," while also noting that it represents an almost complete about-turn from the shiny commercialism of Ten Love Songs. The Guardian called the album Sundfør's Biophilia moment. PopMatters noted the experimental sound of the album, and thought it resonates with the music of Jenny Hval.
Songs and lyrical content
The albums opens with the acoustic "Mantra", where Sundfør proclaims herself to be "as clever as a crow, as lucky as the moon, and as mighty as a shark." "Good Luck Bad Luck" is a "resigned end-of-romance dirge" sung over folk guitar, piano, double bass and baritone sax, and ends with a slowed-down jazz break. Described as "an art installation-like interlude," that recall sound effects from 80s sci-fi, and follows with a spoken passage from naturist Andres Roberts, in which he responds to the question: "What would you say to someone who has given up on life?" asked in an interview by Sundfør. Halfway through the song, a plucked acoustic guitar, later accompanied by a flute, carries the song to its conclusion.
The lead single "Undercover" is a country-tinged piano ballad that grows as the song progresses, and ends with climactic, "chilling vocals." The eighth track "No One Believes in Love Anymore" is a mournful piano ballad that is a "cynical loss of faith in romance." "The Golden Age" is the last song Sundfør wrote for the album. It contains a "bleeping Moog melody" which The Irish Times described as "a gloriously avant garde moment." The song is built on a simple arpeggio progression, and has hints of jazz, folk and electronica, although according to musicOMH "its real roots lie with 'Feed the Birds' from Mary Poppins, a song that not only deals with keeping the wildlife well fed, but also concerns social responsibility and empathy.
For a song so delicate and gentle, there's a surprising amount going on here." The album closes with "Mountaineers", a "gothically glittering" duet with American singer-songwriter John Grant, who "chants a tale of romantic breakdown and plane crashes over an ominous drone reminiscent of late-period Scott Walker." The songs contain electronic textures and gospel influences within its church organ and soulful choir.
Release and promotion
On 28 May, Sundfør started posting on Twitter every day a song title with a few of its lyrics in the order of the track listing until 6 June, when she announced the album's release. That same day, "Undercover" was released as the first single along with a pre-order of the album, which was originally scheduled for release on 25 August 2017. "Undercover" was supported by a radio edit, cutting the song to a length of 3:28. The album is her first to be released under Bella Union. On 18 August, Sundfør announced that the album's release date has been delayed to 8 September for CD and digital download and 29 September for vinyl release, due to "unforeseen circumstances." On 21 August, "Mantra" was premiered on the BBC Radio 6 Music show, Jon Hillcock Sits In.
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on twelve reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Clashs Luke Winstanley wrote, "Music for People in Trouble takes more creative risks than its predecessor, and though this may deter some, it proves to be a decision that pays off. Far from diminishing the project, the end product is another outstanding record, executed with fearlessness and grace." Spectrum Cultures John Paul praised the album, writing, "Music for People in Trouble is nothing short of a personal and professional triumph for Susanne Sundfør."
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Music for People in Trouble. * Susanne Sundfør – vocals, production, grand piano, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, arrangements, programming, recording, creative direction, photography * Jørgen Træen – production, double bass, electric guitar, synthesizer, arrangements, programming, mixing, recording * John Grant – vocals * Jesse Chandler – flute, clarinet, alto clarinet * Jon Balke – grand piano * Gard Nilssen – drums, percussion * Frans Petter Eldh – double bass * Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar * André Roligheten – saxophone * Megan Kovacs – kanklės * Erik Johan Bringsvor – acoustic guitar * Andres Roberts – spoken vocals * Lewis Sebastian Kay-Thatcher – spoken vocals * Iggy B – recording * Johnny Skalleberg – recording * Scott Petito – recording * Clay Schmitt – recording * Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim – recording * Greg Calbi – mastering * Luke Jarvis – layout, design
See also
* List of number-one albums in Norway
External links
* Music for People in Trouble at Bella Union *