I would love to give her that slow knowing smile and make her say hey, hey, hey, hey.  And we would say oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.  Just like her song.  From the whistling in the beginning of “Give Me That Slow Knowing Smile”, the simple repetitive chords of an acoustic guitar and the harmonizing bass line, the gentle entrance of Lisa Ekdahl’s feather like voice, to the subtle drums and electric guitar strumming and solo that is not overpowering yet making the song interesting, you know “Give Me That Slow Knowing Smile” will haunt you for a long time, in a good way.  The new album from the Swedish singer and songwriter Lisa Ekdahl has this element of dreaminess and simplicity that works well with her unique child-like vocals.  To be honest, I could not get into her previous Swedish release “Pärlor Av Glas (Pearls of Glass)”.  The style of that album is too different from the Lisa Ekdahl I have come to know.

I enjoy listening to her old album “Sings Salvadore Poe” of jazz and bossa nova written by her husband.  I think “When Did You Leave Heaven” and “Heaven Earth & Beyond” are two of my all time favorite records of hers.  Some may critize the suitability of Lisa’s child-like voice for the jazz genre.  But just take a listen to her rendition of “Cry Me A River”, “The Color Of You”, and “When Did You Leave Heaven”, you would simply want more.  But more doesn’t seem to arrive, yet.

This new album I would classify under pop-folk.  Entirely written by Lisa Ekdahl, the lyrics are as heavenly light as the music delivery.  The opening line in the form of chorus for “The World Keeps Turning” is captivating: The world keeps turning we can’t change its course.  What I can’t hold by love, I won’t hold by force.  The world keeps turning beyond our control.  What I can’t hold by love, I won’t hold at all.  It turns out to be a dreamy love story, strengthen by the symbolic images of a running lover invoked by the lyrics.  Another song of my faovrite is “One Life” when she sings, “All of us came in through the same door … all of us will very soon be leaving.  We were brought here soon we will depart.”  And the one face that she keeps referring to turns out to be the face of God.  Simply beautiful, in a heavenly way.

A short album of 36 minutes and below is a live video clip of the opening track “Give Me That Slow Knowing Smile”.  For those who purchase the CD, it comes with Opendisc technology that allows you to access to her commentaries, interviews, and videos online.