A-HA – Foot of The Mountain

Releasedate: 12-06-2009; Label: Universal
By: Nina Mende

A-ha is a band from Norway. They initially rose to fame during the 1980s and have had continued success in the 1990s and 2000s. a-ha achieved their biggest success with their debut album and single in 1985. “Hunting High and Low” peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard charts and yielded an international number-one single, “Take on Me”, earning the band a Grammy Award nomination as Best New Artist. “Hunting High and Low” was one of the best-selling albums of 1986. In 1994, the band went on a hiatus, the same year a-ha reached a sales number of 20 million albums sold worldwide. After a performance at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 1998, the band returned to the studio and recorded 2000’s “Minor Earth Major Sky”, which resulted in a new tour. By 2000, they had reached 36 million albums sold word wide plus a double figure million singles. In 2002 the band released their seventh studio album “Lifelines”. 2005’s “Analogue” has been certified silver and is their most successful album in the UK since 1990’s “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”. Their 9th album, “Foot of the Mountain”, is now released.

The beginning reminded me a little bit of a The Killers song or Depeche Mode, but that impression only lasts a couple seconds before you can hear the typical a-ha sound. The album has a major synthie pop sound on it which is quite typical for the band. The melodies are very catchy and the lyrics are deep and thoughtful. The music spreads happiness and a feeling of being complete although not all songs are too happy, at least lyric wise. The powerful and positive sound brings a soft smile to your face when listening to it. “Foot Of The Mountain” reminded me a little of U2 and you probably know it from various promotional commercials for this album. “Nothing Is Keeping You Here” has a very similar sound to “Foot Of The Mountain” and is just as dreamy and spirit-freeing. The album gives your thoughts a hand and frees it from daily boundaries that keep you focused so the melodies can take you on a journey not only to the foot of the mountain but also up the hill and to the clouds. A-ha has made it again and created a wonderful album that won’t let go of you, it touches you and takes you away. Morten’s high notes are well placed as usual, but on this album he doesn’t seem to sing that high too often. But even without an immense use of these wonderful high notes Morten’s voice delivers the emotions of the lyrics just as well. “Foot Of The Mountain” is a wonderful album of a wonderful band. I can’t wait to catch them on tour in October.

Tracklist: 1. “The Bandstand” 2. “Riding The Crest” 3. “What There Is” 4. “Foot Of The Mountain” 5. “Real Meaning” 6. “Shadowside” 7. “Nothing Is Keeping You Here” 8. “Mother Nature Goes To Heaven” 9. “Sunny Mystery” 10. “Start The Simulator”

Links:
A-Ha Official