Bel Canto Norway

"Bel Canto's fourth release Magic Box is a mixed affair. With former member Geir Jenssen gone from the group for several years now, his influence on the sound has faded, and Bel Canto continues moving away from the dark synth-heavy soundscapes made while he was a member.

Replacing those elements are influences from folk music and world music in general, generally lighter and more uplifting tunes and they try out at making some certifiable pop tunes here as well; with mixed success.

Adding melodic guitars to some of the tunes sounds invigorating in places, the light melodic touch bringing energy to songs otherwise dominated by keyboards and synths; but when added to the lighter and more pop-oriented tracks like "Freelunch in the Jungle" and "Kiss of Spring" it also shows that the band has a large development potential in the art of making memorable and catchy pure pop songs. Bel Canto are at their best when making tunes more similar to their earlier stuff here, with the slightly eerie "Sleepwalker" and the haunting "Paradise" as clear highlights; and the world music influences invigorate tracks like "In Zenith" and the aforementioned "Sleepwalker", and on "Bombay"; the tune with the highest degree of folk music influences, they create a really intriguing soundscape breaking up the pattern of the album at midpoint in an interesting manner.

Fans of the band of old may not appreciate the direction the band is heading towards on this release; but a fair number of good tunes makes it a worthwhile addition for fans of slightly exotic and dreamy pop music."

"Shimmering, Warm and Bright is norwegian band Bel Canto's third release, and it was issued way back in 1992. It was also their first release without electronica wizard Geir Jensen (aka Biosphere) in the group, which resulted in a slight change of musical style, and what is probably their most commercially successful release ever.

Musically this album is solidly placed in the world of electronica. Analogue instruments can be heard throughout the album, but the most important and defining sounds in the soundscape here are electronic. There are really two kinds of songs on this album. Some songs are a bit up-tempo, often with a thumping bass line being the defining rhythm instruments in those songs, and with highly melodic patterns being weaved with electronic and analogue instruments to create a dreamy atmosphere; often underlined with a floating synth. Other songs are very mellow, with at most slight use of rhythmical patterns, and with dreamy and often sad sounding synths being the dominant instrument besides the voice of Anneli Drecker. Mellow, dreamy, melancholy and slightly sad sounding is as good a description as any of this album in general.

As for the individual songs here, all of them are good. There are differences in rhythms, tempo and style en masse here, but all of the songs are mesmerizing and captivating.

Personal Highlights: Summer, Shimmering Warm and Bright, Le Temps dégagé"