JACOB FAURHOLT - Sad People
I was starting to worry a little. Danish indie lo-fi folk singer Jacob Faurholt has been releasing a lot of music since the beginning of the millennium, and at least one item per year since 2011. And then there was a pause in 2018. As he also has a regular day job and has recently become a father, it is understandable that he allowed himself to skip a year.
Now he is back with the short four track EP Sad People, a self-made bedroom recording, mostly taped live, with only a few overdubs here and there. When all is sa(i)d and done, the EP doesn’t even make it to ten minutes. As Jacob Faurholt will soon begin the recording process with a band for his upcoming full-length album, we should cherish this little intimate item as a side of the artist that we have come to appreciate a lot over the years.
The opener The Horror only makes it just over the one-minute mark because it ends with a phone dial tone. Otherwise it feels like a fully-fledged track, albeit a very short one. The following title track is also only two minutes long and comes with some electric guitar overdubs. Halloween Pumpkin is the pre-release single, and why not release a Halloween track a full four months after the actual holiday? Set Me Free ends the EP with a mood that reminds me of olde-tyme Americana gospel music.
It’s this American influence that is often highlighted by listeners when confronted with Jacob Faurholt’s solo music, but I also feel reminded at times of the late Nick Drake, when it comes to the fragile, trembling and yet unmistakable voice, plus the bare bones nature of the music which if often reduced to a few bars of acoustic guitar. I have been following Jacob Faurholt’s music since his very early days, and he is an artist that keeps growing on you. The four songs on Sad People give an intimate view into the troubled soul of the artist, but I admit that I am already truly looking forward to his next full band album.