Torvik is a young Norwegian who came to the guitar late, but with this, his third release, he reveals a centred maturity and range of styles that leaves you intrigued about his potential. He plays with a lyrical calm and a refreshing simplicity. He rarely rattles along at any velocity. Instead he’s happy letting the tunes do the talking, as on ‘Bla Skugge’ which glides over an arco bass and plashing cymbals. There are echoes of Metheny and there’s a lot of Jim Hall bubbling away, with bluesy single-string runs counter-pointing airy, romantic melodies. There’s a folk element too, beloved of many Scandinavians, while the acoustic ‘Stille Song’ has echoes of John Martyn’s suspended chords. But Torvik rocks it up when he wants, as on ‘Kryssande’, with Nygard lending some bumping percussion. As cool as a mountain stream, as they used to say of Consulate. Ah, but now I’m showing my age.