Fever

On Fever, Norways Thomas Dybdahl returns home to Starvanger from his late-night L.A. studio sojourn with producer Larry Klein on All These Things. Working at his 1micadventure studio with longtime collaborator and hip-hop producer Havard Rosenberg, the nine tracks here are emphatically D.I.Y.: Dybdahl played virtually all the instruments and tracked almost all vocals. The most jarring thing in the mix is the absence of his trademark acoustic guitar in favor of an electric. The motivating factor was to make a soulful guitar record that didnt sound like one, and that balanced the vintage and the fresh simultaneously. They listened to classic artists ranging from Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin to Sam Cooke and Bill Withers, from Ray Charles and Sly Stone to DAngelo, Raphael Saadiq, and Michael Kiwanuka in order to kindle the creative spark. Fever feels like its title: Its a sultry, sensual album that employs vintage instruments and modern production techniques to orchestrate Dybdahls thoroughly contemporary songwriting. First single and opener 45 is a case in point; it digs into a Willie Hutch-esque, hooky guitar vamp with breakbeat snares and a funky bassline. In the lyric, Dybdahl urgently offers his best Curtis Mayfield impression. The title cut is a deep, murky, urban love ballad; its desperation and longing saturate the mix and create a decisive tension. In the fractured nightmare funk of Dance the Pain Away, Dybdahl sounds like hes fronting the Remain In Light-era Talking Heads. On My Way to California and Call Me by Your Name find Dybdahl literally channeling the Jeff Buckley of Everybody Here Wants You, accompanied by layered reverb, sparkling keyboards, and chunky guitar that frame his aching vocal. Patience is a moody choogler a la Syl Johnson, with loose guitar licks, layered percussion, and a syncopated bassline. Dybdahls singing touches on both Bobby Blue Bland and Al Green in its blissed-out chorus. Whats most interesting about Fever is that while it doesnt quite fit with All These Things, it links inseparably to Dybdahls other recordings. Its a deliberate retro-soul offering that could only have been made in the 21st century. Dybdahls writing -- lyrically and musically -- and arrangements are provocative and emotionally resonant; with all the crooning here, its a prime candidate for a babymaker album. Its also a minor marvel in terms of sonics, sequencing, and execution. ~ Thom Jurek