Sort of forgot about this album. An easy thing to do, you see, as I had considered it merely the acoustic demos of the songs that Sofia Talvik included in her album “Florida”. I suppose that it, in a way, is but we are talking Sofia Talvik here so all is not quite as it seems.
Looking at that now, this album makes for an interesting companion piece to the “full fat” version of her album but, even though the main event’s earnestly trendy venture into Americana worked well, these acoustic versions have not been overshadowed. In fact, Ms Talvik seems even closer to the track of American folk music here as her precise, lightly accented voice brings an innocence to her songs that reference the same road taken by the young Dylan. Of course, and as you might expect, modern sensibilities do colour things somewhat but, even so, Ms Talvik’s way with metaphors has a way of charming a cynical reviewer’s brain. For those of you with the good taste and curiosity to be interested, the closest to those days of soon to be lost innocence were the poetic “More Than I Should Have” and the truly adorable “Maybe Then Will Be When”.
This acoustic version of “Florida” works a lot better than you might expect with Ms Talvik bringing her customary charm to her songs in a way that few could. It would seem that innocence has not actually been lost but that it has taken to hiding itself in clear view.
Available as a download from Bandcamp.