Owls - Carl Norén
With 'Owls' Carl Norén created a successful pop album. From tender - fragile singer/songwriter songs over electronical touched songs up until up tempo songs underlined by strings. On the debut album of the Sugarplum Fairy singer the whole spectrum of the radio friendly pop universe gets sounded out. Carl Norén makes his looks to a suitable media showcase project: The bon blonde scallywags hair, the pearly-white Nutella boy smile, the unexceptional well chosen indie clothes…and if you make such music on top of that you don't have to worry about your success.
Exactly this media suitability could turn out as brake shoe for the real big success. If you hear a song like 'Going Out Tonight' in the radio you will notice the powerful voice, the catchy melody and the perfect production but the depth of focus, the intimacy and the seriousness of the music of Carl Norén doesn't become accessible. 'Owls' is a classic example for a record whose force only becomes accessible if you listen to it completely. In best cases several times in a row. And in best cases with headphones. The first three songs outstand that much with their diversity so that you could accentuate musically half a day to listen to them on repeat.
On 'Tired Of Running' whose second part closes up in an equal melancholic way Norén shows himself very personally. „Baby I am tired of running / I have got my clown shoes on me / Baby I am tired of running / My only holiday is to hide away inside / A guilty conscience feeds on a healthy mind at night”. Such lines cawed by a Jazz-singer scarred by life and the depression is within reach - Carl Norén however wears the clown shoes to it, the pain has got a nice trendy, lively surface with him and therefor the contrast is even more within reach.
The next song 'New York' is a soft guitar ode to the city which is being extolled as sanctuary and future place of a hurt man. I’m leaving / I’m on may way / To New York / The new born / Sails away“. Noren's gentle but not flat voice which by all means proves the blood relation to his brother Gustaf, who is the singer of Mando Diao sings so endlessly sad and lost of "empty apartments", "shattered dreams and "broken promises" which he tries to leave and forget in New York.
'The Anger' is the musical and lyrical synthesis out of the 2 first tracks. A stamping beat gets accompanied by a violin, framed by grief and anger: „I get so tired of the anger / And the tears / There are no stopping them […] / Will you love me if I cry? / Will you say ‚Hi’ /The day I die?”. Pop cannot be more beautiful. Of course, with such odes to the inamorata, dashed down on the street up in her apartment, the sob-stuff is just around the corner. But the sob-stuff is part of the life of a guy in his twenties, which have it all and at the same time have nothing, who don't have to worry about money and clear this thoughtful space of doubts and discord for loving and pining. And eventually Carl Norén's record has positive and connecting things for the wrangling night owls of the world, from Borlänge to New York: And I’m going out tonight / I wanna feel her / Oh I wanna feel her / Oh I wanna feel her / No more tears to hide / Oh I wanna feel your arms around me“, Carl Norén sings on 'Going Out Tonight', representatively for the collective aspiration of a human being.
Even the weaker tracks of the album like 'That's The Way I Like It' with its happy dance melody and pretty flat lyrics („That’s the way I like it / That’s how we dance […] / And if you don’t like it / Get out of here”) keep the positive overall impression. You forgive Carl those space-fillers because he gathers a few pop-pearls on 'Owls' which will remain.
source: crazewire.de
Owls by Carl Norén
Everyone is taking about Victor Norén, when they in fact should be taking about his older brother. Look, there we got an embryo to the title of a precocious autobiography. Carl Norén's, that is.
But of course that requires the P3 listeners to rate his delicate pop novels in favor for his younger brother's more coquetry (but sticky) electro pop.
For distant, the accessible teenage rock that was Sugarplum Fairys' signum, Carl Norén demonstrates admireble skills of telling stories. Fictional diary entries, nicely composed with either an acoustic guitar or a piano ('Owls').
All together stylishly produced in company of Mats Björke from Mando Diao. This is not an album with a goal to reach Tracklistan (as if it still would have existed), although the qualities to get there are there. The singles 'The Anger' and 'Going Out Tonight' are irresistible P3-pop, spiced up with beautiful violines, but the fact is that the latter sounds better in the acoustic version that you could find as a bonus song on one of the singles. If it would have been on the album, it would have been the best track of the record.
Carl Norén - Owls
Contact the responsible health authority. The rampant solo virus has reached Sweden. Tiny all-clear signal: Only musicians of known bands are being hit by it. After USA (Casablancas, Flowers) and Great Britain (Smith, Healy) had to overcome an epidemic the north of Europe is now seized with it. The main symptom of the victim: Release of a record on which optionally a) the time between records of the main band is being bypassed or b) music, that (apparently) cannot be realized with the band is being worked up. Most of the time the record of the virus victim doesn't reach the quality of the output of the actual band and bribes with indifference. Sweden's youngest victim: Carl Norén of Sugarplum Fairy.
With his debut he says goodbye to the Rock'n'Roll of his combo and backs on quieter respectively more electronical moments. On the opener it's a computer beat and funk blowers, which surprise, with 'New York' follows an acoustic guitar piece. The songs on 'Owls' take turns in this regularity: first there's the song with the electro beat and/or funk influence after that the acoustic guitars, relatively the piano dominate. But to exactly the first category the slightly rough voice doesn't want to fit in. What works really well in the acoustic context, doesn't really fit in the funk costume because Norén lacks of the other- worldliness or actually the soul in the voice. In addition a really excellent song cannot be found even after several listenings. Neither a really bad one, for that the songwriting is much too accomplished of the man from Borlänge and the production of Mats Björke (Keyboarder of Mando Diao) too versed. You are neither being left flat nor disappointed, neither of the ballade 'Dawn' nor of 'The Anger' which somehow reminds of Gnarls Barkley. Therefor Norén shows a classical course of the solo virus. And proves one more time that band musicians work better with their band, than alone.
source:soundmag.de
Carl Norén - Owls
Carl Norén is especially known to music fans as brother of Mando Diao frontmen Gustaf Norén and as singer and guitarist of the band Sugarplum Fairy. Now he delivers with 'Owls' his first solo record and diverges himself from the typical rock style of his band. The album, for which he wrote all songs by himself and produced all songs together with Mats Björke (Keyboarder of Mando Diao), opens with the disco - suited 'Tired Of Running'. But the bigger part of the record consists of acoustic songs which got played in mostly with acoustic guitars and soft piano sounds. His hymn to 'New York' could also come from Ryan Adams. Next to several ballades there's also room for a few songs that could be imagined in connection of a band. ('Going Out Tonight', 'That's The Way I Like It'). Friends of scandinavian rock music will feel at home pretty fast and could also get along with the quiet songs, which include many beautiful melodies.
source : allmymusic.de
Carl Norén's record is much about love. He found the inspiration at Ikea for instance. "To see a couple choose between different beds and fight about it, such things inspire me. If I would only take from my own life, it would get boring."
New sides of Carl Norén
Carl Norén makes a solo debut like his brother and band colleague Victor Norén of Sugarplum Fairy. The record is called 'Owls'.
Now both the Borlänge brothers of Sugarplum Fairy go for their own solo careers. It is because of little brother Victor Norén, 25, is doing his own music under the name Viktorious, that Carl Norén, 27, last Wednesday released his solo debut 'Owls'.
- The record company rather wanted Victor solo than him doing another Sugarplum Fairy record. I got tired of the commercial and wanted to start writing my own songs, Carl Norén tells us.
- But I wasn't ready to go solo yet. If I would have controlled it myself, I would have waited a few more years.
Is there any competition between you and Victor?
- Yes, definitely. But it's more about attention from parents and grandparents. I'm on plus at grandmother and grandfather. We inspire each other to not be the one who end up in the shadow.
Last year Carl Norén went on tour as support act for Johnossi and big brother Gustaf Norén's band Mando Diao on their tours in Germany and played on big stages.
Now he wants to enter smalle stages.
- There's a gap between troubadours and signed artists who play at clubs I want to fill. I would like to play at cafés together with other bands, like the open scen you can find in New York.
The brothers' solo careers doesn't prevent a new Sugarplum Fairy record. But it will take some time.
- Me and Victor have talked about it. We've gotten a studio together and as soon as we got some time we'll write songs to Sugarplum Fairy. The other guys are studying.
And next year at this time, Carl Norén is counting on releasing solo album number two.
- I've already written four, five songs to it.
Published: in Swedish metro, translated by Celine Jacobs
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