Michael Aadal Group - Abigail (2013)

ARTISTS
Michael Aadal guitar
Andre Kassen saxophones
Ole-Bjørn Talstad piano
Anders Hofstad Sørås pedal steel guitar
Audun Ramo bass
Gunnar Sæter drums
Stein Roger Sordal vocal on track 9

Michael Aadal’s first delicately arpeggiated minor chord sets the scene and there is indeed a modally minor infl ection to the entire album. But rather than induce pathos, it lends a pensive solemnity to this spellbinding music. The band’s second album, ‘Abigail’ (the first was Desertion, 2008), portrays a journey through nature, lovingly crafted and driven by a group of outstanding musicians. Appropriately for a Norwegian production, the arrangements provide expansive breathing space and once entranced, you are transported to an ethereal world, which releases your mind from the humdrum and the hackneyed.
Aadal’s guitar and Anders Hofstad Sørås’ pedal steel guitar branch from the same tree and intertwine in captivating combinations. Throughout the album there is enchanting use of repeated and shared phrases, such as the motif first stated on ‘Japan’ by Ole-Bjørn Talstad’s always sensitive piano playing and again in the group’s almost tribal vocal at the end of ‘November’. The instrumentation is like a well cast film and it’s no surprise to learn that they met and first played together as students (at the University of Agder). Michael says, “Our sound is the sum of the musicians’ individuality and I think that collectively, we create an original sound.”

1.01 - Michael Aadal Group; AUDUN RAMO; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; André Kassen; Gunnar Sæter; Anders Hofstad Sørås - Abigail (3:58)
1.02 - Michael Aadal Group; André Kassen; Anders Hofstad Sørås; Gunnar Sæter; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; AUDUN RAMO - Japan (4:51)
1.03 - Michael Aadal Group; Gunnar Sæter; Anders Hofstad Sørås; AUDUN RAMO; André Kassen; Ole-Bjørn Talstad - The Way Home (7:01)
1.04 - Michael Aadal Group; AUDUN RAMO; Anders Hofstad Sørås; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; Gunnar Sæter; André Kassen - November (3:05)
1.05 - Michael Aadal Group; André Kassen; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; AUDUN RAMO; Gunnar Sæter; Anders Hofstad Sørås - Silent Creek (9:47)
1.06 - Michael Aadal Group; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; André Kassen; Gunnar Sæter; AUDUN RAMO; Anders Hofstad Sørås - Redwood (6:09)
1.07 - Michael Aadal Group; Anders Hofstad Sørås; Gunnar Sæter; André Kassen; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; AUDUN RAMO - Old Friend (7:15)
1.08 - Michael Aadal Group; AUDUN RAMO; Gunnar Sæter; André Kassen; Anders Hofstad Sørås; Ole-Bjørn Talstad - Black River (2:55)
1.09 - Michael Aadal Group; AUDUN RAMO; Gunnar Sæter; André Kassen; Stein Roger Sordal; Ole-Bjørn Talstad; Anders Hofstad Sørås - Abigal (Vocal Version) (2:50)