I just had to write about this one. ‘5 o’clock Man’ is a single from the seductively named Norwegian ‘soft rock’ band Lady Friend.
It’s the title track of their second album, which will be released on October 18th, and the song (the album as well I guess) concerns not somebody who needs to shave twice a day but the main songwriter’s (Anne Mette Hårdnes) husband, who has the annoying habit of getting up at 05:00 (I decided to go digital just once) while all she wants to do is to lie in.
I concur absolutely with the sentiments here, as a ‘night owl’ who wouldn’t have been asleep for very long before that 5 o’clock alarm shattered my peaceful dreams.
I mean, what does anyone do at that ungodly hour of the morning? Even Babestation on the TV has closed down for the night/morning/whatever.
I see their debut album, in 2022, was ‘Songs from the Guesthouse’. I hope those guests aren’t required to rise before dawn, as well. Is it an airbnb? Or a monastery?
The previous album certainly attracted attention, with comments like “a breath of fresh air in the Norwegian pop scene”; “(she could be) the new Carole King”; and “music that is unpredictable at first listen, but sticks on repeated spins” from the local media.
I’m not really sure what to make of this one. Musically, it’s lush, pleasant, simple and undemanding (nothing wrong with that, we don’t have to listen to Tchaikovsky or Yes all the time do we?), being enlivened by a short but tasty little guitar solo for the bridge.
Lyrically though, all it does is to recount at length the basic story, which is “what the hell are you doing? It’s five o’ freakin’ clock in the morning, get back in bed will ya?
Leonard Cohen’s virtuosity isn’t going to be challenged any time soon and as it stands it’s something of of a non-story.
What might have made for an interesting turn is a final line that suggests something like “if you can’t keep me warm I’ll find someone who can.”
Now that would have got the early birds chattering. Or perhaps the twists in the storyline come later, in the album?
We shall see.
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