Rebekka Karijord - Noble Art of Letting Go (2009)

Nordic singer-songwriter Rebekka Karijord is the sort of ethereal artist that makes you believe music can be original and made for the purpose of actually listening to the lyrics. Grammy-nominated hippy gypsy Rebekka's The Noble Art of Letting Go is a vulnerable, haunting album referencing losing one's sense of self, relationships, regret, finding your path and discovering opportunities to make things right again. The grey, foreboding weather of Sweden and its surrounding woods are felt here, her heartache wrapped up in the delicate piano and harp (instruments she plays). Standout tracks include 'Wear It Like a Crown' which deals with the paralysing fear of being left alone and losing everyone that ever meant anything but ultimately ignoring all of this and forging ahead on your own, and not waiting to be rescued, "'Cause if I don't follow my heart this time/I'm gona forget what this life is all about".

Rebekka's style comes across as nonchalant, yet she mixes this with a sense of acceptance over things she can no longer control, and the pretence of being someone she's not to make another person happy, in this case, a past lover in 'Paperboy'. The album's sound is the kind of music which settles into your consciousness wiithout invading your inner thoughts, but instead subtely edges forwards, making you think about the subject Rebekka's singing about. Atmospheric in a way which is similar to Texas instrumental group Explosions in the Sky, the music builds slowly, song after song, 'til you're left feeling as though you've read a private journal entry from someone having left it behind in a hurry. 'Life isn't Short at All' picks up the pace, with a more melodic, contended vibe, with words such as "I have lived for 13 thousand days" - the opposite mantra to believing our lives are to be lived to full capacity. You get the feeling Rebekka is happy to go along with whatever life happens to present her with. The acoustic last track 'The Collector' is, on the surface, a pretty, harp-led song until you realise that the potential object seemingly appears to be dead (at least metaphorically) as she carries him around, and remembers him just the way he was when "he was my boy".

This album showcases Rebekka's raw honesty and emotional experience; delicate and yet somehow, there are determined, dark undertones which catch you by surprise. The songs are made to be listened to closely, the lyrics the main focus. The album is rocky and mellow in all the right places, its themes universal and weighing, but somehow I'm left disbelieving that these songs still mean what they did at the time they were written. Still, this is a beautiful sounding album by a singer wearing her her heart on her sleeve, expressing her innermost reflections and thoughts, whether we believe it or not.