We continue to feature artists for the first time in Nordic Music Review who've been getting some good recognition elsewhere for some time, which simply reflects the sheer number of talented Nordic artists out there. And also that we're just a small website that can't cover every album release or artist all of the time. Norwegian singer songwriter Maria Toresen definitely fits into that category. Originating from the West of Norway but now Stavenger based (which makes more sense after 'I See Rivers' helpful 2 minute guide to Norwegian geography on stage last Friday night...), she released a beautiful album called 'Birds Don't Tell' last year, and she's now followed that up with a new single 'Don't 'Waste our Time'.
The new single is in many ways bigger and bolder, if more melancholy than most of her album, which generally had a quirky feel to it, as well as mostly being based on a fairly minimalist approach to use of different instruments, and subtle strings. In 'Don't Waste Our Time' the instrumentation (especially as the track develops) feels bigger and more rounded, with layered vocals and pleading lyrics. But as always the strength of Maria Toresen's lovely vocals shines through, which have a beautiful tone and the track works really well, take a listen for yourself:
Anyway we don't have any live dates to tell you about right now, but for more info on Maria please visit her website or check her out on Facebook. And we definitely recommend the album 'Birds Don' Tell', there are some lovely moments on the album which features Maria herself playing violin in every track, and the album is dedicated to her grandmother who taught her to play the instrument - anyway you can find it on Itunes, or on most streaming services.
You can also watch a video to her track 'The Mountain' below, which is taken from footage that her Uncle shot almost 50 years ago, and includes him feeding polar bears...