Paul, Lauren and Frode are back with a wonderful new song called “Lonely Surfer”, which is released on their own label Eleventeen Records today. It’s the first single off their upcoming seventh studio album.

The song and accompanying music video, directed by Lauren, is heavily inspired by Paul and Lauren’s new California surroundings in Venice, LA, the area they moved to from New York in 2019.

In a press release posted on a-ha.com, Paul says the new single describes “characters surfing through their daily lives and random jobs in office buildings somewhere down the road, usually 40 minutes away – traffic depending. It’s an overcast California, but you can reimagine it in colour with ‘Lonely Surfer’s’ three-part harmonies and surf-rock overtones”.

He says the upcoming album, which was recorded in LA, will include “a lot of pop songs but there are different directions – harder songs with a New York edge too. Every song is approached from its own point of view, a fair amount is upbeat, a few uplifting songs, a lot of different rhythms. What I think of as individual colours. Releasing singles first and then the album gives you chance to crystallise it. Right now, I do know I’m looking for something shorter than the last album as a title – that had such a huge title!”

“It’s a cool change for us”, Paul says of their new sound. “We’re excited and ready to roll – excited about our past and our future.”

The newspaper Dagsavisen has reviewed “Lonely Surfer”, giving it 4/6 (paywall):
“This sounds West Coast, while the guitars lean toward Americana. Still, the Paul Waaktaar-Savoy trademarks emerge with big soundscapes and lots of air, plus some of his best ever vocals and with beautiful backing vocals by Lauren. And the surf is there, both in a sound that draws inspirations from Dick Dale’s guitars and more recent Savoy-favorites like Allah-Las, and in the overall atmosphere of the song.”

In connection with the new single, Paul has taken time to answer questions from fans in a Q&A posted in the Headlines & Deadlines a-ha Fan Group on Facebook this week. 43 questions in all, about a-ha, Savoy and more.