Hajk - Drama

Norwegian electronic outfit Hajk (pronounced 'hike', to rhyme with 'bike') return with a strongly melodic, if perhaps more melancholic, successor to last year's eponymous debut. Taking love and relationships as its theme, Drama takes us on a journey with no final conclusion, but perhaps leaving us with a sense of hope and promise.
 
Preben Sælid Andersen and Sigrid Aase play a neat trick in sharing lead vocals as Drama unfurls a tale of two lovers on the precipice of break-up; of denial and regret; of letting go, and possibly even of reconciliation. Is it the same relationship? Or are they protagonists within two separate stories? Either way, these are songs of heartfelt pain and doubt, and possibly explain why the album was pencilled in for a February 15th  release, immediately afterValentine's Day.
 
Whichever way you choose to interpret Drama, it remains a beautifully constructed and recorded set of songs. With few guitars, and sparsely economical on rhythm, it instead builds on its meticulous blend of digital and analogue layering, lovingly assembled with sharp attention to detail and a wide-eyed narrative. Every track assumes a confessional life of its own, from the opening angst of Keep Telling Myself, to the yearnings for everlasting love that re-surface in final track Breathe.
 
For fans of Oh Wonder, or French trio Evergreen.
 
8/10