Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Admiration of longevity normally comes with a price, the understanding that a particular artist, a group, a collection of like-minded performers has been around as long as you can remember, ones that may have formed your early appreciation for the genre, can lead to feelings of buoyancy, and that of regret.
The upheaval of the heart is such that the memory is subject to a bout of melancholy, the soul searches for a True North, and the mind will wander, flicking from celebration of past works to the commemoration that like life itself, such things must eventually end.
Such an event though is surely a long way off when it comes to the narrative supplied by one of Norway’s most successful and authentic groups, a-ha, and as their latest album seeps into the listener’s soul, so admiration of the commitment and ethic of the band grows intently.
True North sees the threesome return with an album that is arguably muscular with feelings and performance, and yet one that is also demure, willing to hold its own in company, but unabashed at its own flavour. For the first time perhaps, the listener is under-prepared for how scenic, how steeped in tradition the album impresses upon the senses, and for Morton Harket himself, undoubtedly one of the finest examples of his vocals ever laid down on record; even when memory compels you to spend a few hours afterwards groping through the extensive catalogue as you search for a point where the compass might be wrong.
True north, a meaning, an application of pleasure, and in each song, such as the sublime and haunting Hunter In The Hills, Bumblebee, Make Me Understand, You Have What It Takes, and the epic nature of Between The Halo And The Horn, the beauty of the album resonates with fervour, with atmosphere, and with insight that inspires the heart to look beyond admiration, and witness an act of veneration taking place.
True North reiterates why the public never say a bad word about a-ha, the music is of calm assurance, a point on the compass that you can not only rely upon, but which opens a route, a passage, free of complications and drama. It is with pleasure and honour that the Norwegian trio are once more back in the public eye.
Ian D. Hall