The Sun Sessions EP. The Vibeke Saugestad Band

A few weeks ago The Vibeke Saugestad Band debuted on this blog with its debut single 'Hey Now Sunshine'. Today it is  time to put some attention on the four song EP the band recently released. But first some history.

For me Vibeke Saugestad is a new name, but read the exclamation marks with which Malibu Lou of Rum Bar Records announces his cooperation with the singer and her new live band and the appreciation of her hits of the past and you know someone with quite a name is returning to the music scene. In the case of Saugestad this career was in Norway, before getting married in the U.S. and settling down in Beacon, New York.

The Sun Sessions EP was played by Vibeke Saugestad: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, saw, mellotron / Ken Fox: bass guitar / Adam Napell: drums, percussion, backing vocals / Josh Stark: electric guitar, backing vocals / Mark Westin: electric guitar, backing vocals. Those paying attention on this blog may remember Ken Fox entering it in March 2020 with his album 'Knock Yourself Out'. Fox is Saugestad's husband by the way.

What strikes me most on The Sun Session, is the the pop feel the band manages to sprinkle into its rock songs. This starts with that great and optimistic single. Coincidentally I heard Cindy Lauper's 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' on the radio this morning. 'Hey Now Sunshine' has that same sort of optimism contained in it. I could have mentioned 'Walking On Sunshine' as well. 'Hey Now Sunshine' is less exuberant than the other two, but sparkles in the exact same way.

A second feature comes forward in the second song, 'Another Light'. This song does have the exuberance of the two examples in the above. What enters here is the vocal strength of the band. In short bursts of background vocals, they add vocal prowess to the song, giving the song a Beatlesque pop quality. While the band plays tight, Saugestad is the middle of it all. She's the singer all right. Listen to '2nd Avenue' and you'll hear how she is the absolute sun in the band. The music is not pretending to be something new, but brings back nice memories of the better music coming from past decades, while being totally new, original songs and very worthwhile.

The final song, 'Last Days Of Summer' is a ballad. And yes, these days lay just behind us, as I'm looking out my window to a drab, grey day, not warm, not cold. I will not go as far as to compare the song to the weather today, for that Vibeke Saugestad's voice sounds to good. It's just that these kind of ballads, usually as there are exception, are not my cup of tea.

With three and a half out of four The Sun Sessions EP scores rather well. Quite a nice introduction and hopefully a first step to more.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order The Sun Sessions EP here:

https://thevibekesaugestadband.bandcamp.com/album/the-sun-sessions-ep