TINA REFSNES No One Knows That You’re Lost (Vestkyst Records VEST32)

TINA REFSNES No One Knows That You’re LostTina Refsnes comes from the small Norwegian seaside town of Floro and, after four years living and studying in Liverpool, she moved to Oslo where she found the key to her music. From there she travelled to Toronto to meet producer Robbie Lackritz. The resulting collaboration produced this, her debut album.

Tina is a singer/songwriter/guitarist and she is supported by three Canadian multi-instrumentalists: Elrik Stordrange, Don Kerr and Mike O’Brien. Their sound is, in my view, a bit too big. The album is very listenable in a background sort of way but the songs are submerged in the production. It’s perfect for the modern generation but not so good for us oldies.

The songs themselves trace a journey of growth and development from the broken relationships of ‘I Don’t Know’ and ‘Leave This Heart’ through the self-realisation of ‘Upside Down Clouds’ and ‘The Heart Wants Its Way’. ‘Alaska’ tells of Tina’s search for peace and simplicity and with ‘Spoilt Rotten Blues’ she has reached the point of giving advice to someone else. With ‘Told’ she’s looking forward to age and experience but there is a sting in the tail and ‘Song About Trust’ has her worrying again about the possibility of a break-up.

This is not my sort of album – I can no longer share her concerns – but I can tell that younger listeners with find plenty to latch on to.

Dai Jeffries

‘Upside Down Clouds’ live:


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