Silje Nes

Living on the edge of the largest fjord in Norway must have had an impact on Silje Nes's music. The starkness of the environment isn't dissimilar to the barren layers of textures she builds, and her childlike voice makes for something almost unmistakably Scandinavian. Like its predecessor, Opticks was recorded almost entirely by Nes in her home on a laptop, with the biggest change being geographical: she's now living in Berlin. It hasn't had much impact on her music though, as album number two is much like album number one ― Opticks is so fragile that one strong gust of wind could blow it all away. It just doesn't work as active listening music because Nes's hushed vocals don't demand to be heard and that's the album's greatest weakness. While it does drift along prettily, too much of it is barely there and the music isn't very memorable. Once the CD stops spinning, Silje Nes is but a distant, vague memory.