Sometimes, you just gotta chill.
Every once in while, life just seems to catch up with you. Know what I mean? The job, the bills, school, the family. Whatever. Sometimes it all just seems like a little too much to handle.
When that mood overcomes me, which (thankfully, isn't very often) what I like to do is jump in my Ripple mobile, a'67 Ghia convertible, drop the top, pull out of our grand office parking lot and head on down to my favorite stretch of beach just south of Del Mar. Somehow, when the sun is shinning on your shiny bald head, the waves crashing a mini-symphony to your side and open road up ahead, it all just falls back into perspective.
Of course, for a journey of release and rediscovery, you gotta have the perfect soundtrack. And more often than not recently, that soundtrack has been provided by my favorite Norwegian purveyors of classic Americana, Cortina, and their debut disc, Been a Long Time.
Now if the sound of Norwegian Americana stumbles off your tongue as gracefully as Mike Tyson dancing Swan Lake, take a moment and catch your breath. These guys know what their doing. Alternately, haunting and moving, other times soaring and inspiring, Cortina have been kicking around in their native land for over 6 years, plucking out their acoustic guitars, adding in some stand-up bass, and the occasional piano and desperate violin. Think of them as the Norse Eagles back before the Eagles lost their country roots. The Viking Crosby, Stills and Nash.
"Been a Long Time," starts this affair off with an upbeat, jaunty tune, perfectly created for that seaside drive. In fact, the lyrics even start off with a hopeful "The sun is shining/It's a lovely day," followed with some delicate country guitar picking. But honestly, for me the album really picks up with the second track. "Falling Star," is a mournful, soul-filled song of longing and wishfullness. Paul Hansen's vocals soar over the melancholy, at times sounding astonishingly like a young Van Morrison. The chorus soars and falls like clouds floating across the sky.
"Here I Stand," comes back a victorious, I'll-be-back song, celebrating the perseverance of the human spirit to rise after one too many knock downs. Gentle violin and harmonica add texture without being overpowering, lilting behind the acoustic strumming and occasional slide guitar. For me, this song takes me back to Laurel Canyon in the mid 70's when American roots-pop purveyors were digging communal living and feeding off each other in a creative feast of energy. I don't know exactly where Laurel Canyon is in Norway. Perhaps the boys will show me some day.
"Lift Me Up," tells just the opposite tale, a desperate plea for help when you life is "fading day by day." Spiritual uplifting, and beautiful in its melody, sometimes we all just need that little extra boost to make it through. " The standout track of the disc though is definitely "Don't Leave Me." Check it out on the band's myspace page. Starting off with an absolutely haunting violin line mourning over a delicately picked guitar intro, "Don't Leave Me," blends into a begging tale of lost love and betrayal of the heart. A perfect song to accompany your morning coffee. For me, this is when I climb out of the Ghia, perch myself on the door frame and face the west, watching the sun slowly drop into the ocean beyond.
In the end, Been a Long Time is a beautiful, easy listen in mostly melancholy Americana with the odd glimpe of a bountiful and hopeful future. Some of these ballads hold up against the best of the bands I mentioned before. At times, I feel the songs could use a little more variety in pacing and mood, but there's no denying the craft. These fierce Vikings have dropped their battle axes, picked up the harmonica and violin and found their own salvation deep in the heartland of America. Try it for your next chillout trip. You won't be disappointed.
--Racer
www.myspace.com/captaincortina
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