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Science

by Thomas Dybdahl

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On Science, his major label debut with Rykodisc, Norwegian singer/songwriter Thomas Dybdahl sings "all I need is a quiet corner and a conversation," and presents a collection of ghostly and intimate songs suitable to exactly that setting. Dybdahl sounds like he might blow away in a stiff breeze, and the music is delicate almost to a fault--a wisp of piano here, a muttering of acoustic guitar there, melodies half-whispered as if they were afraid to step too much into the light. And though Nick Drake or (more recently) Leslie Feist can turn this approach into a gossamer dream of a song, here the tunes early on Science teeter on the edge of formlessness. Just when you're about to nod off with your headphones on, along comes "U," structured and delivered like a slow-jam Prince B-side (even the title seems like a salute to the Purple One's signature English abridgements), and suddenly Science moves from soporific to sensuous. Let's keep our fingers crossed for future albums that tap more of Thomas Dybdahl's structured side, letting his obvious depth of soul show itself to the world. --Ben Heege