Track Review: Ida Wenøe: Another Kind of Love

‘Beautiful, reflectively set lyrics constantly draw your attention back to Ida’s story.’

Intro to Ida Wenøe:
Joining the growing roster of Nordic artists featured on Listen to Discover, Ida Wenøe makes for the perfect addition. Releasing her debut album ‘Time of Ghosts’ in 2017, it was clear that Ida is able to showcase – as well as seamlessly blend – her diverse musical styles and
make them flow like a river. If you want the perfect examples, just listen to the title track followed by ‘Lyla’. Now, a couple of years later, Ida has returned with ‘Another Kind of Love’ and taking a side step from the folk origins, she brings us yet another musical influence. Read more at: Behind the Music: Interview with Ida Wenøe.

Track Review:
Capturing a true sense of noir musicality straight away, a stirringly beautiful combination of wordless harmonic vocals and gentle electric guitar serves as the perfect introduction. Feeling timeless, with a distant buzz, it’s not hard to imagine the bar where this evocative story is being told from. Equally, it’s easy to imagine listening to the track as it pours from the gramophone in the corner.

Transitioning from this instrumentally centred beginning, the lyricism quickly becomes the central point. Bringing an almost Patsy Cline-esque edge to the sound via it’s production, Ida’s vocals sit wonderfully above the restrained nature of the accompaniment. Working in this way, the intimate atmosphere is captured beautifully and while the broken chords play a key role, our attention is firmly on what Ida has to tell us.

Sounding stripped back, but in no ways empty of interest during these opening sections, the second verse sees the texture develop in a stylish, yet still restrained manner. Taking the rise and fall within the chords as a starting point, these gradually form the basis for further lines, such as contrastingly rhythmical bass to be formed. Likewise, the rhythm within this is enhanced through the greater emergence of percussion as the verse continues.

Turning away from the lyricism for a few moments, following the developments to this point the track becomes instrumentally centred. Keeping the essence of the sound, the earlier elements combine to produce a warming atmosphere where solo jazz guitar lines take the place of Ida’s vocal. Serving as added interest, as well as a moment to reflect, it results in a sound that is even stronger than what has been.

Taking the ideas of the track being one of reflection, the halfway point sees the luscious textures be removed to reveal a near a capella sound. Allowing the heartfelt nature of the track to come through, wonderfully reflectively set lyrics such as ‘there’s a silence’ draws our attention firmly back to Ida’s story. In a similar, but beautifully contrasting way, the staggered harmonic vocal setting of ‘wouldn’t do’ brings a sense of momentum.

While inferred initially, the sense of movement soon becomes clearer and a result, drama not heard before now is musically encouraged. Generating a sensation that’s different from until now, you may expect the cause to be equally so. However, in seamlessly blending an array of fragment melodies, Ida takes the existing content and her soaring vocal into a concluding guise that’s dreamy, wondrous and touchingly reflective.

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Find out more about Ida Wenøe at: Behind the Music: Interview with Ida Wenøe