Kari Rueslåtten
Sørgekåpe

Once in the early nineties Kari Rueslåtten was part of the Norwegian band The 3rd and the Mortal that is said to have inspired the likes of The Gathering, Flowing Tears and Nightwish. She did two releases with them before releasing her own stuff, this new album is sung in Norwegian just like the first official release. And though Norwegian is one of the sillier languages in the world it is still great with artists using other languages than the ever-present English, that shows some creative thinking.

Folk pop is a good way of describing what we get to hear, you can clearly hear the inspirations from folk music, but also from metal and classic music. The mood is nice and dark, the production is really good, and I think that Kari’s vocal performance is a fine addition to this album. It is songs that are easy to take to and quite easy to like, perhaps not overly original but at least with a sense of freshness to it. Good playing time and variation as well, the Norwegian is a nice touch and a real advantage at times but also a weakness at other times depending on the character of the songs. It might be because I understand Norwegian, anyone not understanding might see it differently.

Sørgekåpe is a good album, there are some excellent songs like Svever, Månen Lyser Ned and Alt Brenner Nå are probably my favourite songs, I like them quite a lot. The title track is good too, it opens the album really well. The end of the album is a bit weaker though, the last three tracks doesn’t do very much for me. I would say that it has been a fairly enjoyable album to listen through, though it may not be a standout album.

Fans of Kari’s will most likely find this album to be very strong, and it will most likely appeal to a wide audience, some might even find it to be great. I think it has some great tracks, and some that are quite dull and tired. Still, I think that it is an album that can be worth checking out, I don’t think you will be too disappointed.

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