Lene Marlin

Playing My Game appeared in 1999, following the first release of Unforgivable Sinner in Norway. Sitting Down Here and Where I’m Headed gave the album further familiar points of entry, each showing a different way of placing a clear vocal melody against a lightly moving arrangement.

Sitting Down Here is particularly effective in its use of contrast. The tune is immediately approachable, yet the delivery has a withheld quality which makes the song feel less straightforwardly cheerful. The performance allows a phrase to sound simple without making the feeling simple.

That balance gives the debut its identity. A voice does not have to become louder or more decorated to communicate a change of attitude. A small alteration in stress can make a line feel newly guarded or direct.

Another Day followed in 2003, with Mike Hedges producing. The title track’s recording credits place Marlin’s voice and writing among guitars, bass, percussion, programming and a carefully shaped band arrangement.

The setting is fuller, but the central quality remains recognisable. The singing keeps the listener close to the line, while the accompaniment creates enough movement for the song to unfold without forcing a dramatic climax.

The early albums are rewarding for that restraint. Sitting Down Here may be the most familiar introduction, but it also gives a fair account of the wider songwriting: a memorable melody, a clear voice and an emotional complication left just beneath the surface.