Rock Archeologia

Home Groan - Addicted (2001 Me)

Artist: Home Groan
Album: Addicted
Label: STICKMAN / ME Records
Catalog#: ME 006
© Copyright - Home Groan Productions/NCB
Genre: Folk: Progressive Folk
Release Date: 2001
Country: Norway
Total Time: 00:43:37

• "Home Groan" groans...and grows - that fact is strongly confirmed by their latest adventure. "Addicted", the 5th Home Groan CD in as many years, is an aural testament of both Martin Hagfors' unsung songwriting genius and Home Groan's well-honed ability to Groan & Roll like an organic musical plasma, always arriving at the right musical moment when you least expect it. Hagfors' unique turn of phrase weaving it's way through timeless tunes, his voice, wise yet innocent. Most importantly of all, Home Groan's new CD is a declaration of love for The Song. Addicted to The Song. Get Addicted." 

• It's a long time ago Home Groan hid away on Norwegian Woods amateur scene along with other more or less hopeful and hopeless Norwegian band. A charming singer with silly fur cap awakened a momentary interest before he was forgotten in the masses roar.So it turns out that Home Groan has managed to bite his firm as a nice part of Norwegian music, and as a band leader in urban roots rock home.

• Addicted is their fifth album, and it has been a pretty diverse album with some minor bumps along the way, as befits a home dear tousled bunch.It opens out in the cotton fields with a frihetsmessende choir before Martin Hagfors takes us into his fairy tale world populated by wolves, sheep and Little Red Riding Hood. Lovely wrapped in his bright voice is The Woods a modern American folk song of the best brand, which incorporates features from the British folk tradition also heard. It is in this intersection Home Groan belongs, based on the traditional, they create their own home brew. The simplest is often the best, also for Home Groan. Nothing Is For Keeps is an acoustic gem in the Neil Young-lane, where only the voice and the single guitar is allowed to rule properly so nicely in about three minutes. Neil Young is probably also satisfied grin and hear the Wrong End of a Knife, a scruffy rocker with harmonica and driving radio-friendly chorus.Hagfors is self Norwegian-American, and can allow a little un-Norwegian person portrayals, like in Empty Can - the story of Raul, Mohammed, John and Hank. Such close portrayal is an art he mastered. Nor could he avoided the somewhat facile geographic link on Across (Sleepless in Seattle, Broke in Bangalore etc). Hagfors Hemingway is not right yet, but beautiful love showing it akkesom, and the lyrics are of otherwise high quality.It goes something traurigere with Home Groan when they embarked on the blues rock (Put There By You) and 60's rock (Landslide). They do not punch that is needed for this to be groovy or tough, although it certainly sounds fat alive. It still forgiven immediately with the disc's most beautiful moments, Linchpin. It's a song Roger McGuinn assuredly written 1000 times in dreams. The light and melodious song sprites rest up with Terje Johannesen beautiful trumpet playing.Wind instruments also come forward at Addicted to the Song, the long final track where Home Groan again received help from Jaga Jazzist (as the Astrodome). Such unconventional grip is rare in Norwegian roots music, and with such success as here, it is something we would want more of later on.Addicted has a bunch of songs, some a bit unnecessary, adding thus neatly into Homegroans charming catalog. A directory that is still waiting to be crowned.

  • Tracklist:

01. The Woods 4:13
02. Nothing Is For Keeps 2:28
03. Empty Can 3:58
04. Wrong End of a Knife 3:48
05. Across 4:03
06. Put There By You 3:50
07. Linchpin 3:59
08. Landslide 4:18
09. Master Plan 3:13
10. I Will Never 1:32
11. Addicted to the Song 8:03

Members:

Even Finsrud - Drums, Perc, Pedal Organ, Backing Vocals

Odd Eirik Fleishcer - Bass, Backing Vocals

Martin Hagfors - Lead Vocals Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Harp

Terje Johannesen - Electric Lead Guitar, Trumpet, Horn, Pedal Organ,

Low Strung Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals

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