
LORENTZEN – Leave Nobody Behind
- by J.N.
- Posted on 30-06-2025
RELEASE YEAR: 2025
BAND URL: https://apollonrecords.no/products/lorentzen-leave-nobody-behind-cd
Apollon Records were kind enough to hand me a copy of Leave Nobody Behind, which was composed and crafted by the talented Eivind Lorentzen (ex-Gentle Knife, Oldenborre, and Synsbedragerne), and the idea behind the album and lyrics seemed a rather interesting and intriguing one on paper.
Floating somewhere between atmospheric prog, neo-classical, minimalist rock, ambient music, and jazz-flavored touches, Leave Nobody Behind is nothing if not different and original-sounding, and there is a plethora of skilled and noteworthy musicians who make an appearance on the disc, but the overall result strikes these ears as being somewhat unremarkable and, sadly, forgettable. The melodies and textures fail to evoke and establish a convincing or engrossing aura that sucks you in, and the majority of motifs neither stir the emotions nor stimulate the mind. As mentioned before, the concept is attractive in that Lorentzen employs the poems of Rainer Maria Rilke throughout, which is certainly an inspired move, but the compositions never truly manage to complement the words, and the affair feels disjointed and incohesive in that respect.
As much as this scribe loves experimental music, this album quite simply does not gel and comes across as strangely one-dimensional and devoid of emotional resonance.