Opticks is Silje Nes' second album for Fat Cat after her warmly received debut - Ames Room - in 2007.
The title refers to Isaac Newton's 1704 book, the subtitle of which, " a treatise of the reflections, refractions and colours of light", also serves as a convenient summary of the record's main themes.
Silje grew up in the small town of Leikanger, in Sognefjord, the largest fjord in Norway but has relocated to Burgen, that country's second largest city. The album, she says, was recorded "in a bright little room, behind seven locks in a concrete building full of long dark corridors".
This description conjures up an image of luminosity preserved in a secure place away from the harshness of the outside world and this is pretty much sums up the mood of the album too.
The voice of Silje Nes has a beauty and delicacy that evokes a world in which the speed and dissonance of city life is never allowed to intrude.For instance, she is the kind of woman to be fascinated by ponds (Crystals) and, in Branches, sees trees as sources of protection ("branches will take of us, carry us in little movements until we reach the ground") . In Hello Luminance nature seems to personify hope despite first impressions to the contrary ("the water is so clear even if it's dirty").
The pitch of her voice never rises much above a whisper and it is revealing to note the absence of microphones in the videos posted on her My Space site. The fragility of her vocals is such that there is almost a sense that it would struggle to survive an excess of amplification.
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The longest track (Levitation) has the strongest beat but even this drifts away into something more abstract and ambient for the second part. Her songs all have this sense of being carried along by a gentle breeze rather than being subject to any stronger force: At the same time, her voice is used to convey a texture and mood rather than to give any strong narrative flow.
The simplicity of the songs belie the intricacy of the all-acoustic arrangements, the multi-layered voice, guitars, cello and looped sounds have a complexity of which only reveal themselves after repeated hearings.
Opticks should ideally be listened to in the same spirit as it was recorded, setting aside a bright and tranquil space in which to appreciate this calming and, at times, magical record.
Silje Nes on MySpace
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