Thanks to the striking video clip and the high voice of singer Morten Harket, the Norwegian trio A-ha scored a huge hit in 1985 with the single Take On Me. In the years that followed, the band scored several hits, but as the (female) fans from the first hour got older, the attention for the handsome men disappeared. Officially the band quit in 1993, but already made a comeback in 1998 with the album
… . It was not a spectacular CD and therefore it did not reach a new (read: young) audience. In interviews, the three said that it was no longer about that either. They had started making music together again because they still enjoyed it themselves. And apparently that pleasure continues, because in 2002 Lifelines, the second CD of the 'new' A-ha, is released. After listening a few times I expect that the album will again not do much. It is full of mid-tempo pop songs that all start to look alike over time. This is disposable music that will neither warm nor cold to the average listener. And the fans of yesteryear? They might purchase Lifelines out of homesickness and then they will be pleased to find that Morten still masters those famous high streaks. (MvP)more
