to listen or purchase
Everything Jarle Bernhoft has released in his relatively brief solo career has been worthy of discussion, and his fifth album is no exception to this rule. The Norwegian soul artist, who made a career as a one-man band using a loop band in his live concerts (and who got the full orchestra treatment on his last release, Walk With Me, as Bernhoft & KORK) this time crate digs into ‘80s UK soul, new wave vibes, snare drums and arcade sounds for Islander.
Everything Jarle Bernhoft has released in his relatively brief solo career has been worthy of discussion, and his fifth album is no exception to this rule. The Norwegian soul artist, who made a career as a one-man band using a loop band in his live concerts (and who got the full orchestra treatment on his last release, Walk With Me, as Bernhoft & KORK) this time crate digs into ‘80s UK soul, new wave vibes, snare drums and arcade sounds for Islander.
Lighter and less earnest than Solidarity Breaks and Ceramik City Chronicles, bright effervescent sounds pour over highly melodic constructions like lead single “Come Around,” the LA soul funk of “Everything Will Be Alright,” and the Bobby McFerrinesque “Wind You Up.” That contrasts with “No Us, No Them,” Bernhoft’s darker neo-soul side gets a thorough workout on a silken duet with reigning Philly Queen, Jill Scott, and on a dirge ballad of strikingly bare emotional intensity, “Don’t Let Me Go.” Like his airy “Freedom,” this soul pop album is as open and free as its occasional evening breezes. Highly Recommended.
L. Michael Gipson