Einar Solberg – 16
Release Date: 2nd June 2023
Label: Inside Out Music
Pre-Order/Stream
Genre: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Prog, Pop, Electronic, Alternative.
FFO: Leprous, Host, Ihsahn, Porcupine Tree, Haken.
Review By: Rick Farley
As frontman and chief songwriter with Norwegian prog kings, Leprous, Einar Solberg is forging his own creative path as a solo artist with the release of 16 on Inside Out Music. His powerful and distinctive voice, with the addition of a collaborative effort from an impressive array of like-minded musicians helping him achieve this extremely ambitious album, reaches for the dizzying heights of modern progressive innovation.
Wildly diverse but spiritually rooted in Einar’s well established world, 16 is an album full of peaks and valleys, big surprises and direction that borders on the musical soundscape already set by Leprous and mixes it with the modern active experimentation of numerous styles. This will feel familiar to many, yet very much fresh and new. 16 from the beginning, was meant to be a 50/50 collaboration with one composer on each song but grew in its enormity involving numerous fellowships on many tracks. Bouncing around ideas, Einar and his musical contemporaries blend their worlds together, resulting in the diverse pursuit for something different.
At times vibrant and alive and other times dark and moody, musically 16, covers everything from pop, folk, electronic music, funk, hip hop, prog rock, and metal with the use of live musicians, programming, songwriters, and composers. Guitars, strings, synths, choirs, and samples all mixed with Einar’s emotional and dynamic vocals keeps everything as a kaleidoscope of musical ideas spinning in nearly every direction. At times, though, the album does feel a little too long, coming in at one hour and ten minutes. It would benefit from a little editing. Despite this, 16 truthfully sounds remarkably coherent. A feat in of itself, considering the number of people involved in this enormous project. A list which includes Ihsahn, Magnus Børmark, and The City of Prague Philharmonic Choir just to name a few.
Conceptually, 16 is an album based on a few years of life’s defining moments for Einar starting at the age of sixteen going through to the age of nineteen that forever changed him and contributed to the loss of his innocence. It was a realisation that bad things can happen. The album does have some positivity attached to it through career defining moments as well, covering an emotional spectrum that comes full circle.
The darkened Where all the Twigs Broke featuring Star of Ash starts with a melancholic piano passage. Einar’s tender crooning feels entrancing over the sombre melodies. Electronic synths with head bouncing beats increases the dramatic soundscape to the levels of cinematic scoring, it feels like a story is unfolding for you to experience. Levels of intensity in Einar’s voice expand on the tension before returning to the piano and soft vocals.
Home featuring Ben Levine is an electronically funky track with a bluesy pop swagger and undeniable hooks. Horns in the background, slinky bass, and Einar’s smooth yet slightly raspy vocals, gives you (I believe the term is) severe stank-face from the groove alone. Complete with some clear hip hop influence and an unexpected rap, gives this track a path to being a pleasant surprise.
The haunting yet grandiose Over the Top is part arena rock ballad, slow building to staggering melodies. His enormous range is used throughout, which creates different levels of melancholy and massive expressive impact. Simply put, the man can purely sing in ways many can only dream of. Huge swaths of orchestral layers loom in the background, giving the track a fulfilling journey through its engrossing spirituality.
For you Leprous fans, (this is not the end, it’s only a solo project meant to peacefully co-exist together) this record is a no-brainer to check out, but if you’re unfamiliar with Einar Solberg, appreciate amazing vocals, musical diversity, and honest lyrics about real things, do yourself a favour and give 16 a spin. 
(4 / 5)
