Search - Ricochets :: Ghost of Our Love

Energetic 70ish rock with a great singer

brainspin | Oslo, Norway | 11/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Richochets is a band from Fredrikstad, a town in southern Norway. They were first heard in the Oslo club circuit in 1997, but the band had several problems, and was dissolved in 2001. Suprisingly, they came back early this year (2003) with a great album, "The ghost of our love", which got very good reviews by the few papers that noticed. "Natt & Dag" (Oslo's Village Voice, sort of, almost..) called it the record of the year, although it was still only April.Everything on this album points to the early seventies. The design of the cover, the swinging, hard guitars, the organ, the desperatly high pitched vocal.They have really great melodies, energetic and clear sound and an almost sensational singer who sometimes reminds me of Screeming Jay Hawkins. And if you hear it in a bar, you won't notice the lyrics.The songs are beautiful, simple, three-four chord things. I try to remember who their style idol might be.. hard american inspired rock with that great vocal in the middle ... early Bruce Springsteen, maybe, or Waterboys?I just returned from New York, and couldn't avoid noticing the renewed interest for simple, guitar based rock. This band fits right in.I rate them to four stars. The five must be reserved for people who write lyrics as Bob Dylan, in addition to making beautiful music. (But who does?)"