Once in a while an album comes along that initially leaves one wondering what to make of it. I Have Never Told You is one of those singular albums. On it Erik plays various instruments, Marit supplies the voice, and they're helped out by a few other musicians. The instrumentation is a motley collection of such things as synth, piano, organ, violin, drums, and trumpet (to name a few) plus oddities like tea kettles and "odd squeaky thing"! Indeed, the music at first blush seems like a mishmash, but there is method in the madness - and humour too with the last track called "Furry Lisa" being a brief version of the classical music piece "Fur Elise". According to the liner notes there are voice, percussion, and tone instruments running in parallel throughout the album, each representing a story. I think the stories emanate from an experience described in castle canyon where the sound of logging trucks and cars created several sonic effects. That may be where the idea of using environmental sounds came from, because many of the tracks feature various kind of genuine, if sometimes staged, ambient noise. The mood on this album is often contemplative in a languorous way, and a little doleful at times. Even the more lively tracks have a kind of nonchalance that means they never quite become foot tappers. The track "The Cup of Tea" is a great example of the doleful aspect as we hear a gas stove being lit and the sound of a whistling kettle while a solemn melody is played out on piano that briefly rises to a crescendo with the boiling kettle. The listener can be caught out when the style abruptly changes, as in the following track appropriately titled "Scene Change" which bursts into a melody with what I think are hand drums and a trumpet playing a stilted melody - for some reason this brought to my mind the image of a peculiar carnival. Fans of synth based music will be glad to know that this album isn't all based on acoustic instrumentation. A few of the tracks contain some electronics, notably "Castle Canyon" which despite a variety of environmental sounds such as birdsong and footsteps also has a slowly building drone that hits a peak with an excited violin before finally fading off into nothing. It has taken me several listens of I Have Never Told You to have some appreciation for its shy charm and enigmatic ways. It's the kind of music that would suit a lazy Sunday afternoon reverie.