Workers in Songs are a Danish Americana band who released their second album a little less than a month ago. I was listening to the excellent ‘That Glorious Masterpiece’ on the drive into the office this morning. For some reason, traffic was moving really slowly and I could feel the levels of frustration rising inside me. I had work to do.
I might have wanted to scream but I sensed my level of desperation would not even register against that being experienced by the protagonist in ‘That Glorious Masterpiece’. Morten Krogh’s vocal comes from an exasperated and elevated place of despair. He might have found no solace in the bottle of bourbon but that doesn’t matter because he’s now gurgling with bleach.
The lead single from the album is “Crazy Just For You”. A casual listen might suggest that this is one of those throwaway tender love songs that the 50’s Rock N’Roll banks are full of. But listen closer and you’ll realise that there’s madness at play here. Drinking has stirred demons and the scene that’s setting is one of broken dreams and insane intent. It’s pretty angry.
Morten Krogh sent me an E-mail to tell me about the video that Workers in Songs have made for ‘Crazy Just for You’ –
“We teamed up with director Marie Limkilde, a student of The National Film School of Denmark and an experienced music video director. In the video a young girl lives a solitary, yet playful existence on an abandoned farm. This is what happens when her universe meets the sound of a rusty male voice barking out a desperate, almost pitiful story of longing.
A contradicting clash is born between the universe of a grown-up versus child, and his desperation-to-the-brink-of-insanity versus her innocent playing around.”
I find this beautifully shot video a little bit unsettling if I’m honest. But, I think that’s the effect it’s meant to have. The juxtaposition between innocent play and adult pain and passion really does jar. I guess, though, the closing scenes suggest that hope remains for all. It gives an initial insight into Workers In Songs but for a more rounded take, I’d strongly recommend giving ‘That Glorious Masterpiece’ a spin.
sonicbreakfast 