Susanna to bring contemporary chamber-folk to San Francisco’s Vortex Room

Punk rock shows and disco parties are a blast, but, if you’re anything like us, it’s everything else that keeps you from losing yourself in guitar and synth-induced fuzziness. Brandishing classical chamber and jazz elements Oslo, Norway’s Susanna Wallumrød fits the bill.

If her last album, The Forester (2013), is any indicator of her musical ability, her “low-key” Vortex Room appearance this Thursday, June 19^th should be a stunner. Featuring a traditional folk accompaniment by Norway’s Ensemble neoN, the entirety of The Forester was recorded live in one day. Wallumrød’s ballads belong to those sad, yet powerful moments in a Broadway musical.

“Oh, I Am Stuck,” moves through stages of emotion, from hopelessness (“oh, I’ve got chains on my feet, chains on my hands; there is no liberty / nothing but the old jail I know / nowhere to be found, not for a hundred years”) to the downright devilish (“I can sure do pretend, but where does it leave me hanging?”). “Intruder” takes its lyrical content entirely off this planet. Wallumrød has this remarkably clear, distinctive voice that makes for easy-listening.

This is a rare performance: the last time Susanna toured North America was four years ago.