Lene Marlin : Releases >>
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Playing My Game >>
When Lene Marlin stepped up onto the podium at the 1999 MTV European Music Awards to collect the award for best Scandinavian artist, anyone outside of the icy hinterlands could have been forgiven for thinking, "But that's not the woman out of the Cardigans..." Five months later and Lene Marlin's single "Sitting Down Here" was a big hit throughout Europe and now everyone knows her name, even if they can't pronounce it (it's "Le-nay", by the way). Her debut album Playing My Game fittingly opens with the hit single, which sets the tone for the rest of the album--deceptively sweet melodies topped with bittersweet lyrics of lost loves and youthful alienation. Musically it is hardly challenging, combining the angst of the likes of Fiona Apple with the gentle harmonious vocals of the Corrs. It does beg the question what young, successful, attractive women like Lene and Fiona have to complain about, but if it leads to pretty, folk-tinged pop like this, who's complaining? --Helen Marquis
Another Day >>
While cliché has it that second albums are difficult, Lene Marlin's Another Day almost didn't happen at all. So shell-shocked was the Norwegian singer-songwriter by the runaway success of her debut album Playing My Game--which thanks to chirpy first single "Sitting Down Here" sold almost two million copies worldwide--that she contemplated retiring from music altogether, feeling ill-equipped for stardom. Understandably then, her follow-up, which was four years in the making, is littered with fragile songs of insecurity and doubt, with Marlin sounding every inch the little-girl-lost looking for answers and comfort.
Much to her credit, she's stayed true to herself rather than trying to fit the pop-star profile and supply catchy hits. The irrepressibly cute sing-along of "Sitting Down Here" was always the odd one out among her debut album's folksy laments, and wisely Another Day sticks to her original plan with a raft of beautifully intimate lullabies. And while written with all the ambiguity of love songs, the hushed sways of "Fight Against the Hours" and "From This Day", and tale of separation "You Weren't There", resonate with a tangible loneliness and alienation that suggest her wilderness years weren't totally in vain. --Dan Gennoe
Lost in a Moment >>
As misery goes, bruised Norwegian belle Lene Marlin is no Leonard Cohen. However, it's safe to assume that her third album Lost In A Moment is not intended for seekers of unfettered happiness nor is it an album intended for those fortunate enough to remain unblemished by uncomplicated lovelives. But Lost In A Moment is still a pop record, albeit one perhaps intended to soundtrack the emotional kickback of first true love scorned.
Like Dido, Marlin's songs of chick-lit disappointment beat with a commercial heart; "What If" and "How Would It Be" are certain winners in the radio play department. A light melodic touch and a silky production skills pervades but despite the satisfaction of selling 1.8 million copies of her debut album, Marlin remains a maudlin young lady whose pleasantly uncomplicated tunes--think The Cranberries--are rife with apology, separation anxiety and sundry other lovelorn ponderings. Fame, then, will not change her credo. And on the evidence of such sterling work as "Hope You're Happy" (which sounds like a greetings card from someone with an axe to grind) and "Never To Know" (a grim cello and talk of loneliness and self-harm) Marlin is thinking with her head and her heart rather than with her bank statement. And for that she should be admired. --Kevin Maidment
Another Day >>
Playing My Game >>
When Lene Marlin stepped up onto the podium at the 1999 MTV European Music Awards to collect the award for best Scandinavian artist, anyone outside of the icy hinterlands could have been forgiven for thinking, "But that's not the woman out of the Cardigans..." Five months later and Lene Marlin's single "Sitting Down Here" was a big hit throughout Europe and now everyone knows her name, even if they can't pronounce it (it's "Le-nay", by the way). Her debut album Playing My Game fittingly opens with the hit single, which sets the tone for the rest of the album--deceptively sweet melodies topped with bittersweet lyrics of lost loves and youthful alienation. Musically it is hardly challenging, combining the angst of the likes of Fiona Apple with the gentle harmonious vocals of the Corrs. It does beg the question what young, successful, attractive women like Lene and Fiona have to complain about, but if it leads to pretty, folk-tinged pop like this, who's complaining? --Helen Marquis
Sitting Down Here >>
Playing My Game >>
When Lene Marlin stepped up onto the podium at the 1999 MTV European Music Awards to collect the award for best Scandinavian artist, anyone outside of the icy hinterlands could have been forgiven for thinking, "But that's not the woman out of the Cardigans..." Five months later and Lene Marlin's single "Sitting Down Here" was a big hit throughout Europe and now everyone knows her name, even if they can't pronounce it (it's "Le-nay", by the way). Her debut album Playing My Game fittingly opens with the hit single, which sets the tone for the rest of the album--deceptively sweet melodies topped with bittersweet lyrics of lost loves and youthful alienation. Musically it is hardly challenging, combining the angst of the likes of Fiona Apple with the gentle harmonious vocals of the Corrs. It does beg the question what young, successful, attractive women like Lene and Fiona have to complain about, but if it leads to pretty, folk-tinged pop like this, who's complaining? --Helen Marquis
Sitting Down Here >>
Lost in a Moment >>
As misery goes, bruised Norwegian belle Lene Marlin is no Leonard Cohen. However, it's safe to assume that her third album Lost In A Moment is not intended for seekers of unfettered happiness nor is it an album intended for those fortunate enough to remain unblemished by uncomplicated lovelives. But Lost In A Moment is still a pop record, albeit one perhaps intended to soundtrack the emotional kickback of first true love scorned.
Like Dido, Marlin's songs of chick-lit disappointment beat with a commercial heart; "What If" and "How Would It Be" are certain winners in the radio play department. A light melodic touch and a silky production skills pervades but despite the satisfaction of selling 1.8 million copies of her debut album, Marlin remains a maudlin young lady whose pleasantly uncomplicated tunes--think The Cranberries--are rife with apology, separation anxiety and sundry other lovelorn ponderings. Fame, then, will not change her credo. And on the evidence of such sterling work as "Hope You're Happy" (which sounds like a greetings card from someone with an axe to grind) and "Never To Know" (a grim cello and talk of loneliness and self-harm) Marlin is thinking with her head and her heart rather than with her bank statement. And for that she should be admired. --Kevin Maidment
You Weren't There >>
