DARLING WEST — Interpretations

Norwegian folk-duo Darling Wests Interpretations presents three songs that might give you the good chill this winter. Although that may sound like a paradox, the three cover songs (originally by Dua Lipa, Toto and La Roux) are smoothly and interestingly produced. The songs, that all together shares stories of love, jealousy, outbreak and freedom, are presented by the duo with new and refreshing perspectives.

That said, for those who have followed the duo’s journey the last years, will quickly hear new musical elements outside the traditional folk-sphere. Refreshing choir-arrangements and subtle arrangements emphasizes other elements and sees the lyrics from new angles than in the original songs. (continues under the link)

The record cover shows us a picture of beautiful, but unsprung, flowers, which might be a picture of what is in store. The original songs are obviously well-produced and autonomyous songs for them selves and highly recommended. Darling West adds nutrition to both lyrics and music that makes the songs nourish. In my ears this recording really lives up to its title. When artists are asked to cover a song, they often do it acoustic, stripped down and slower than the original. But few of these covers presents something new to the songs. They might be beautiful, but ordinary. This is not the case on Interpretations.

These are interpretations that really thrives in the hands of Darling West. The folk sound is kept through instrumentations such as banjo and acoustic guitar, but we also get floating background sounds that leads the songs into a more epic and cinematic landscape.

A live version of Bulletproof with an extended band can be seen here: