Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

You can never truly know someone unless they open up their heart to you. It doesn’t have to be through love, or through desire but through the simple action and undertaking of trust and faith in their words. No matter what you make think about them, no matter what you believe, there is so much they keep hidden and away from the prying eyes, arguably even of their best friend. To open up takes courage, to unlock the door and let the emotions have free reign and let them be seen for what they are is to be brave and in arguably one of the finest musicians to come out of the Faroe Islands, that bravery is exemplary.

Lena Anderssen might have spent more time away from the Atlantic bolt hole, the islands that many regrettably forget that are there, she may have spent time in the Canadian towns and picked up the sensibilities of arguably the nicest people on Earth but the sheer depth of song writing that appears on her latest album, Eagle In The Sky, is one that is rooted in the security of kinship and the pleasure of the open skyline. It is reflection of her talent and that of her producer Niclas Johannesen that the album comes from out of nowhere and dominates the thoughts and the heart with almost unerringly and faithful affection.

Eagle In The Sky is an album that stirs emotions, that wakes up memories buried deep and lyrically is one that whips the mind into shape. It flows with candour and truth, it emerges out of regret and apology to fill the sky with possibilities and never once tries to hide just exactly who Lena Anderssen is.

If an album can move you to tears, if the sentiment in a written sentence can catch your breath and make and make you stutter as you hold your arms tight against yourself, then the artist truly has exposed their heart and released it into the wild of hopeful appreciation. In tracks such as Sorry I Made You Cry, Oh Brother With The Broken Wing, This Life, Forever With You and the story behind Class Picture, Lena Anderssen and Niclas Johannesen capture life at its most raw, most pleasurable and at its most gracious and it is like the Eagle, noble and above the pettiness of the Earth below.

A truly remarkable album, Eagle In The Sky is beauty personified.

Ian D. Hall