Nils Lassen – Close Those Ocean Eyes (2024)
Considering his musical career spans several decades, singer-songwriter Nils Lassen might be viewed as a veteran artist. In 1993, his compositions were the soundtrack for the acclaimed film De skrigende Halse, while he also created music under his moniker (((S))). A pivotal player in the music industry, Swedish Lassen earned a reputation as a musical alchemist pushing the walls of pop, classical, electronic and avant-garde sounds to its limits – then stepping over the limit. We came across Nils Lassen as part of the critically acclaimed duo BlackieBlueBird, who we happened to interview earlier this year. Today, we take a gander at his most recent release as a solo artist, ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’.
About eight years after his 2016 single ‘Da Gud Var Dreng’, Nils Lassen steps into 2024 with the solo track, ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’. Shifting from BlackieBlueBird’s dream-pop tone, ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’ delicately adds dabs of rock to an alternative pop sonic painting. A nostalgic breath of 1970s rock looms in the distance; however, contemporary avant-garde sentimentalities linger within the melody making it retro but also refreshing new.
I refer to ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’ as a sonic painting and one can clearly see an image of a brooding ocean with tumultuous waves curling along the lighthouse. You sit back and understand that the ocean is chaotic, yet it also offers a sense of soothing to, oddly enough, calm frenzied nerves. While Tomas Ortved’s drumming offers boldness to the mellifluous track, the pulsating crash merely glides together with Lassen’s guitar in a fuzzy, cinematic sonic haze.
Soft and decadent, Lassen’s vocals are a subdued hush accompanied by Anders Wallin and Marianne van Toornburg whose wistful backing vocals enhance the haunting nature of ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’. Interestingly, the duality of poignant vulnerability and smooth gentleness is not distorted or colliding; it is the most harmonic sound showcasing Lassen’s mastery of emotion in music.
Sincere and sentimental with a dose of reflective insight, ‘Close Those Ocean Eyes’ “blends myth and mystery…inviting listeners to drift into the unknown – simply close your ocean eyes, trust the winds, and sail on, unsure of what lies ahead.”
Find out more about Nils Lassen on his official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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