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***There are times during Little Things that listeners ears may perk up, not quite sure what instrument just floated by. Or, that moment of attention may come when they hear Hanne Hukkelberg glide up and down the musical scale like cotton candy spinning onto a stick. Inevitably, the moment comes, for Hukkelberg has created an album of joyful originality. Little Things bursts with such confidence and ingenuity you'd swear she must have a long, storied career. However, this is Hukkelberg's first record, and she's only 26 years old. Quickly establishing a reputation in her native Kongsberg, Hukkelberg delved into the melting pot of the close-knit Norwegian scene, playing metal, prog, jazz and all-out improv. She graduated in 2003 from Oslo's National Academy of Music and soon after set to work on this entirely self-composed album. Norwegian musicians from Jaga Jazzist, Kaada (who recently collaborated with Mike Patton on an album for Ipecac), Shining, Kiruna and Exploding Plastix made contributions and the result incorporates piano, banjo, fiddle, accordion, violin, glockenspiel, glass bottles, and bicycle spokes, all of which warmly float around Hukkelberg's honeyed vocals. The record plays like memory, starting with the chiming lullaby of "Searching"-- whose light percussive touches keep it floating on air. "Cast Anchor" pushes the substantive wispiness even further, choosing the sea as a setting for hedonistic sky gazing. As the album progresses, the ingenuities continue and the sacred tenderness of Hukkelberg's world deepens. Little Things celebrates the subtleties of tiny touches, warm whispers and the singing of a true talent. |
