Customer Reviews

Deep End

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Madrugada is a Norwegian band, so, as a citizen of the United States (albeit somewhat regretfully - the arrogance, hubris, and greed of my 'typical' country-person is, shall we say, disappointing) it is not a band that is likely to be encountered. Luckily (in this respect), my sister married a marvellous Norwegian man 10+ years ago and has lived just outside of Oslo ever since. Because of this she has introduced me to two VERY excellent Norwegian bands: Seigmen (alas, no longer) and Madrugada. CD's from both bands (Metropolis and The Deep End, respectively) have been birthday presents, and each has been exceptional. With regards to Madrugada: The band is difficult to categorize beyond being clearly rock music (which I love). The energy of the band reminds me of R.E.M. (some tunes are up-tempo, some laid-back). The vocals are very good. Adjectives I would use would be 'laconic', 'warm', 'musical', 'emotional'.
The album is cohesive. The songs on The Deep End have a 'presence' musically. Their arrangements are fluid. The drums, guitars, bass, and vocals, are well, at an apex of musician-ship. The album breathes musicality, and thus is infectious. One won't nod their head as so much as close your eyes with The Deep End. This album is very well mixed and mastered. There are sonic-textures to experience with good playback equipment.

If you are reading this review and contemplating on whether to purchase this album: do. Truly: if you desire/crave/appreciate timeless music, then The Deep End is an unregrettable album.

PS: I love Seigmen even more than I do Madrugada. I have, I believe, every Album and EP that they have put out. I made it a mission to buy them on a visit to Oslo in 2003. Check them out. Amazing.

I liked this album from the first moment I first listened to the opening song of the album, "Kids are on high street" ... This is the first rock album I have truly enjoyed this year, and I think it is one of the best of Madrugada.
What I like in music , "The Deep End" has it all: great lyrics, great music and "fresh" sound. Sivert Høyem's vocals are excellent, and totally fit in to the music. I have been listening to the deep end again and again, enjoying the beautiful lyrics.
Great work again from Madrugada!

I dont know what happens with Madrugada. Their first 2 albums are amazing and perfect and then we have 2 really terrible albums. This album is even worst than their last. I cant hear it at all .

What a great album from Norways most important rock group at this moment.
Sivert Høyem's selfconfident vocal grip's you like an eagles claw around your soul.
You can feel that he mean every word of those fantastic lyrics.
The great guitar-riffs and The suggestive bass from Robert Burås and Frode Jacobsen gives this album the sound which is unique for Madrugada.
This is possibly the best album ever from this group, and might be what gives them the international breakthrough they deserve.

Apologies that I'm not commenting on the music, but buyer beware. This EMI CD displayed the following message when I tried to copy it to the music library on my hard disk:

"To listen to the CD a number of files need to be updated on your PC."

As another commentator on another EMI CD wrote: "From the research I was able to do on the Internet, this is a rootkit which is attempting to install. It is what Sony got in trouble for at one time."

I believe that commentator was correct. These rootkits have big security and performance implications. At least the Sony one caused serious performance slow down, and was very difficult for a non-expert to uninstall. So I do not recommend ever agreeing to "update a number of files". That's an innocent term for a very harmful practice.

It's a sad state of affairs that I cannot listen to this on my computer even though I paid for a legitimate CD.