▄▄ [ INFORMATION ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ ARTIST: Nils Olav █
█ TITLE: Nils Olav █
█ LABEL: █
█ GENRE: Folk █
█ BITRATE: 233kbps avg █
█ PLAYTIME: 0h 47min total █
█ RELEASE DATE: 2012-00-00 █
█ RIP DATE: 2012-04-14 █
█ URL: █
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▄▄ [ TRACKLIST ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ 01. O Wonderful Night 4:52 █
█ 02. Factory In A Garden 5:16 █
█ 03. Hallelu 5:15 █
█ 04. Teddy's Nook 4:16 █
█ 05. Tear Your Pride In Two 4:27 █
█ 06. Unforced Rhythms 5:25 █
█ 07. Send The Lifeboats Out 4:39 █
█ 08. Through The Mist 5:10 █
█ 09. Cog Song 4:43 █
█ 10. Let Go 3:45 █
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▄▄ [ NOTES ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ From The Line of Best Fit: █
█ ItÆs often in the nature of those of us who see lyrics as a big part of █
█ music to look for, and to find, messages about life in the songs we █
█ listen to. Musicians can often articulate through their work what we █
█ could not express, and when we find common ground with a songÆs █
█ protagonist it significantly alters our perception of the music. █
█ Sometimes itÆs subtlety of deployment which makes a message resonant, █
█ however, and if anything threatens to spoil this considered debut LP by █
█ the Nils Olav project, itÆs a slight lack of that subtlety. █
█ █
█ The accomplished orchestral folk displayed on Nils Olav is infused with █
█ a timely message, if not an entirely original one û one which advocates █
█ that you ôfeed the soulö, and to quote a song title, to æTear Your Pride █
█ in TwoÆ and embrace humility in the face of our materialistic ômeö █
█ culture. ItÆs a set of ideas which is only likely to be voiced with █
█ increased intensity in music in times like these, but without the █
█ restraining hand of subtlety Andrew Patrick and his many collaborators █
█ can occasionally veer a little too close to sounding trite or lecturing. █
█ █
█ Nevertheless, beside this minor niggle lies a record which makes good on █
█ the contributions of many talented and able people over a two-year █
█ recording period. PatrickÆs co-conspirators include producer Dave Lynch, █
█ the Iskra String Quartet and Gabrielle Fr÷dΘn of the wonderful Foreign █
█ Slippers. The result is that the album sounds like a labour of love, an █
█ orchestral love letter to winter and time which unfolds slowly over the █
█ best part of fifty minutes. æO Wonderful NightÆ is a bewitching opener, █
█ a veritable hymn to a snowy winter day, and later highlights include the █
█ hazy, buzzing æCog SongÆ. █
█ █
█ The string arrangements and PatrickÆs quiet but adaptable voice lend █
█ these songs a real sense of scale and gravitas; the sparseness of closer █
█ æLet GoÆ is all the more affecting for how carefully a song like █
█ æHalleluÆ is built up instrumentally earlier on the album. Clearly, Nils █
█ Olav are a group of musicians who know instinctively how to deploy their █
█ musical tools in the most appropriate way, dependent on the song at █
█ hand. In sum, then, this is an album which, barring the odd lapse in █
█ lyrical restraint, is a calmly deliberate and entertaining effort, █
█ definitely worthy of a listen. █
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