The 1986 Listening Post - A-Ha - Scoundrel Days

A-Ha - Scoundrel Days

#424/2103

October 6 1986

A-Ha

Scoundrel Days

Genre: Synth Rock

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Scoundrel Days

Cry Wolf

I think this is actually an improvement over Hunting. There isn’t a timeless pop hit the likes of “Take On Me” but everything is much more assured. They keep the Bowie-esque attempts at being arty alive while shooting for that big 80s Arena sound. 

I’d tell a story about how I had a chance to see A-Ha in concert in 1987 when I was visiting friends in California and they had an extra ticket but I didn’t because I was thinking, “Why are you going to A-Ha of all bands??”. So, I just hung out in their apartment because I didn’t have enough money to actually do anything. 

There’s much more embarrassing stuff in this story than I’m telling but an A-Ha review isn’t the place to tell it. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/scoundrel-days-deluxe-edition/380906530

The 1985 Listening Post - A-Ha - Hunting High and Low

A-Ha - Hunting High and Low

#197

June 1 1985

A-Ha

Hunting High and Low

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Take On Me

The Sun Always Shines on TV

let’s get this out of the way: Even without that masterstroke of a video, “Take On Me” is a confectioner’s offering of bubblegum New Wave perfection. Just damned good.

The rest? Some of it sounds like David Bowie’s fever dream of what New Wave should sound like. And yet, it doesn’t feel like a relic. The influences abound and A-Ha pushes the medium forward. For an antiquated sound they sound fresh and excited. The songs get rather pedestrian after a while and that makes me sad. This sound is such a relic. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/hunting-high-and-low-deluxe-edition/380907762