Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Long before the Norwegian and Scandinavian invasion became a sublime permanent fixture on the ears of British music lovers, long before the doors of Paul McCartney’s L.I.P.A. became the hotbed of Norse influence and the beauty of a language enthused with British rhythms, a-ha were the go to band of the mid 1980s and early 1990s in which to get a sense of the sensitivity and craftsmanship that seemed so remote and yet only a short distance away.
Having maintained both a very decent career and the thought in 2011 that finally the majestic melodic Fiords were to close their doors one last time, the surprise that a new album was to be released may have caught fans of Morton Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy off guard. Yet underneath the surprise, joy will surely reign for the fans as the new album, Cast In Steel, brings a memory of distinction that perhaps for the final time will be heard in full and given lasting full appraisal.
When the Norwegian group said they were finally disbanding after the 2009 album Foot of the Mountain, there perhaps may have been the thought of unfinished business hanging in the mists of a lengthy and more than often quite sensational career. That unfinished business perhaps needled and wormed its way into the thoughts of many of their fan’s perceived vision and it is without doubt that that previous album, despite doing well, seemed with hindsight to not be the full story, not to be the best and riveting chapter that the group could have ended with.
If Cast In Steel is to be the final hurrah, studio wise, then the story is one that does resonate with so much more feeling, more sense of overall completion and in tracks such as Under The Make-Up, Objects In The Mirror, Living At The End Of The World and Giving Up The Ghost are far and away a finer and cleaner way to go. Each song carries with it the sense of splendour, an attractive feel that first bought the band to prominence on these shores and one that does actually stir the thought that this is really goodbye.
Nothing can last forever but it can go out on a note to where the feeling of loss is more keenly felt, this is made concrete and Cast in Steel by A-ha.
Ian D. Hall