Minor Earth Major Sky
After a seven-year absence during which the Norwegian pop trio went off  to paint or record solo albums, A-Ha return withMinor Earth Major Sky, their sixth studio album. Recorded in New York over the course of a year, this  one is filled with characteristically subtle melodies, sweeping pop production, and a haunting melancholy. Some tracks (like the winsome "Sun  Never Shone That Day") border on the bland, but there are songs that have bite--such as the icy,William Orbit-style ballad "Little Black Heart"; the big, blowsy title track; and the satirical "The Company Man," where the band sing frankly of being ripped off by their record label ("Deals fell into our arms / And out of our hands"). There's also a nod to theBeatles' "Eleanor Rigby" in the epic, socially conscious ballad "Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count."--Lucy O'Brien