Scoundrel Days
by a-ha

I'm not sure what made me choose this album today. Mostly it's random what I listen/pick up nowadays. Sometimes it's a shiny cover or great song. This had neither but today it was the one. I had heard their work before and expected upbeat pop songs and lovely melodies. The title track passed, wept and left. The next... the next... the next... it didn't take me long to see I was being swept out to sea. Highlights were as frequent as landmarks on the Atlantic. There was an attempt at experimentation at the end of 'I've Been Losing You'. On October he's whispering in an attempt at sensuality. He's saying "down in the city" repeatedly near the end. I'm left cold. In the next song he is comparing falling of the Manhattan skyscraper to falling in love, saying he doesn't want to do it again because it "hurts". This could be a metaphor for destruction of self or something, maybe that's what they were into in the 80s? While you ponder you have orchestral arrangements as apocalyptic as a doughnut. But the icing on the cake was 'We're Looking For Whales'. I'm sure the singers "were looking for little European girls" and then retracts the comments to lay down the original motive, whales. All this constantly for 3 something minutes! Scoundrels indeed. Everything else was painfully mundane. Synths and arrangements made songs seem 1 minute long (Crying Wolf, The Swing Of Things) while others were erased from existence. It would be a moot point to say they're unmemorable. Maybe... Maybe I'm wrong so wrong. This was so formulaic it began to sound amazing in a strange way. Everything forced it's way towards me expecting a big hug and I had to force it away. Relentless like a crashing tide. Suppose it could serve as a beacon for the current "indie" scene. Then again, No. A once in a lifetime experience.

Quite simply stunning. Seriously underrated. a-ha: The Beatles of the 80's.

Probably A-ha’s best album although Hunting High and Low runs it close. As a follow up to that Album A-ha took a slightly different turn with style. A far heavier and more serious sound compared to their debut, but it worked really well. All songs are decent except Maybe Maybe with Manhattan Skyline and I’ve Been Losing You the standouts.

For me there isn't a lot to choose between this album and Hunting High and Low. Both are excellent but quite different albums, I would say this one has a slightly harder less pop edge to it. 'Cry Wolf' and 'Manhatten Skyline' are my top tracks.

From CaptainPain 02/02/2026 03:28 | #312945 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

The Norwegian trio's second album did not meet the expectations of dance music fans. After the stunning synthpop debut in 1985, "Take On Me" was sung everywhere and on all continents, and everyone wanted the banquet to continue. The second studio album "Scoundrel Days", each track of which surprised. It turns out that Norwegian musicians are not as simple, naive and lyrical as they seem. It's a pretty grim release. Judge for yourself the most successful single from the album (No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100) is called "Crying Wolf". The success of the first record was a big problem for the Norwegians. The bar turned out to be very high, so they went according to the album title. After walking along the peaks, we decided to look for luck at the bottom. A-Ha just jumped out of the pack and showed that they are a more complex and ambitious band. (Edited)