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The first time I listened to Staying Old I didn’t think this review would be in André Borgen’s favour. The album seemed fragmented, confused, directionless and noisy in a slightly annoying way. However, the more attention I gave it and the more I listened, I realised there is some kind of glue binding all the sounds together and creating a coherent whole. With the danger of anthropomorphism, it’s an album that comes across as being comfortable with it’s rough, cute, fragmented, and very stylish self.
André Borgen is clearly no stranger to playing around with different sounds. Although the guitar is prominent throughout the album, it’s got an unusual sound which Borgen masters very well. However, this means that those of you wanting an easy-going piece of pop-music might have to look somewhere else. The album requires a bit of attention, and I find myself sucked into the shifting moods of the different tracks. Interesting and exciting as it is, it may be best experienced on a pair of good headphones, well settled into a comfortable armchair.
The album consists of a mix of undefinable noise and seductive melodic tracks, not dissimilar to Animal Collective’s more ambient side, although Staying Old has got a more “down-to-earth” feel to it. That said, there are some oddities on the album, such as “Soap Bush”, which consists of seemingly aimless and unsettling sounds. The next track, “Central Video”, works as a contrast - the song has the same kind of sound, but this time it’s Borgen’s vocals dominating the sound. His low, fuzzy singing sound like it’s wrapped in cotton wool and it works beautifully. The guitar and the vocals, together with layers of low banging and clanking and other almost inaudible noises divide the attention and makes the song an interesting two-minute experience (given the right amount of attention), rather than just a piece of pop-music.
“Pictures Without Eyes” stands out as a somewhat louder, grander soundscape, and it sends me straight into the universe of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The difference between this song, and for example “When I See” is massive, the latter being cute and catchy.
Altogether, André Borgen reminds me of a less polished and more experimental and interesting Magnet (aka Even Johansen). Contrast is a key word for this album – it is the oddness and unevenness which give it its original and distinct sound, and this is also what ties it all together. In the words of the Norwegian poet, André Bjerke, the little wryness is the most beautiful of all.
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