Ole Frimer Band - faerd (2020)

God Frimer well - where is it yet so liberating and enriching to hear blues in Danish.

Astonishing few have done so before Ole Frimer. Peter Thorup, Katzenjammer Kids (feat. Troels Jensen), Børge "Biceps" Jensen, and Kent Thomsen are immediately the only ones who just come to mind.

But blues musicians and not least their audience are at least as conservative as it is loyal, so it is not something you even as an established blues musician just do. But in 2014, Ole Frimer had long since become adaptable and finally took the chance, releasing the completed "Blue Light" album - full of Danish lyrics worth listening to. And so did the audience - yes, even in Germany - where Ole Frimer would also like to air a few of his Danish songs on stage there.

Because it's an internationally recognized player and bluesman we have here. And fortunately, he now follows up with "Faerd" - which, precisely because of an international outlook and the desire for easier online internship, is spelled "Faerd" and not "Færd" - which is otherwise the Archdean word for the title.

A title that reflects the fact that today 67-year-old Ole Frimer is in the process of asserting that the blues are doing well in the native language and that he has been on a longer journey in the making of the new tracks - including in the US - to gather inspiration for the nine tracks on the album. It is clearly an album marked by reflection, reflection, recognition, and self-awareness - and with lyrics about the inexplicable, the uncanny factual, and the near and dear ones.

Musically, it is well-produced and eerily played in all 36 minutes by Ole Frimer on guitar and vocals, Niels Ole Thorning on keyboard, Jesper Bylling on bass and chorus, and Claus Daugaard on drums. There is a beautiful smooth flow throughout, and the album works both as delicious background music and as a record you sit on and live with.

Although Ole Frimer is a fabulous guitarist, it is not the solos that dominate here. They are there - but mostly positioned as the little piercing dots over the ice. You might have wished he had piloted a single time or two along the way and really unfolded himself and his guitar. We have to wait for that experience for the concerts. Fair enough.

Although the album still has to be placed under the genre name blues - it's also so much more than that. There are other sources of inspiration that lift the album. Not least, the wonderfully Steely Dan sounding and cool swinging "City of Angels" - written on a trip in L.A. - whimsically sings the ear canal.

As mentioned, the close also plays a part - and a declaration of love such as "Do you know well" (to the wife) and "Do we see?" (To the children who are moving away from home) - makes an impression - and creates a belief that there too are cotton fields in Ryomgaard and the surrounding area. It is beautiful. It's blue. There are two heart starters.

A story from childhood in the country about the fear of the wild children from the "island", which created fear in the district of Aalborg, where Ole Frimer grew up - incidentally with Lars Lilholt - burns, creates images and reflections. For it is not the same story you could tell today if the story was about refugees or all "those" who are not Danish. Socially conditional powerlessness.

On the whole, Ole Frimer is keen to use place names and describe moods in his songs - and it tops the painting and harsh "Manifest Destiny", which must be considered one of the album's highlights. Created by a real indignation over the gentlemen's mentality of our western world - which, among other things, caused some Danes to actually participate in the genocide of the original people in America.

The opening number "Mirage" must also be highlighted. A slightly acidic text - with room for interpretation - but actually written in the light of an inexplicable encounter with a Galapagos Islands beach trip. Musically rhythmically well-grounded and well-grounded, set in stage over nearly six mind-blowing minutes, giving a mighty desire to just put the number on repeat. But then you miss out on so much other ear gum over the next half hour. So just leave it at that.

Sum sum. There are not really any good reasons not to look forward to following Ole Frimer and his further journey with blues in Danish.