Nærvær "Skiftninger" CD (Bonustracks)

”Skiftninger” (”Variations”) includes 15 charming songs, being intensive but not vociferous. This time the musicians achieved to draw back into their inner self and to document their voyage with an unusual instrumentation. They invite the listener to join them on their trip and to experience calm moments and silence as well as extroverted joy of life and emotions no words can describe adequately.

Since its release ten years ago, Skiftninger has gained a pretty special status among the folks who are into avantgarde tunes. Being the Norwegian duo’s final act, Skiftninger saluts the listener with its deep roots in experimental and atmospheric music. It is not an easy task to even attempt to describe what makes this album special: let it be its plain compositions or its vocals that go back and forth between insanity and melancholy, Skiftninger deserves a close attention from all open-minded folks out there.
The album opens with a rather moody piece which is woven with raven cries and harmonica touches. The first song, Plan, also gives you a lot of hint about the rest of the album – vocal techniques and compositions throughout the album, for one, become evident here. The next song rushes you to the depressive corridors of the psychatric ward of the album with its impressive (and yet melancholic) vocals, cries and whispers. While you get more and more absorbed by their melodies, you will feel detached, and perhaps lost. I am not perfectly sure if it is something that a listener asks for. Let me be frank, it was something that the vast majority of the metal bands have failed to do so in the past decades for the folks who ask for it [luckily, in this webpage, you can read about those bands which are exceptions to my observation]. The mood of the album has its ups and downs. One of the up- points,without question, is the song “Bob Dylan is the Fucking King”. A la folkish, yet mystical tunes of this song surely will have an impact. Blended with a cute female vocal and the harmonica, it is going to motivate you, make you listen to itself many many more times just to grasp its short, quick and emotional melodies. To keep the story short, Naervaer’s, in my opinion, classical album deserves a highlight in its 10th anniversary, not only because of it is uniqueness, but also because of its timeless tunes. Naervaer is a unique band. In the past decade, like a lost lover, I searched and searched for something that is at least remotely similar to Skiftninger. I failed desperately each time, and felt more connected to Naervaer. So, don’t try asking Naervaer out, if you don’t think that you can handle this.

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