Make It New: A-Ha – “Hunting High and Low” (1985)

Towards the end of my last essay focusing on Depeche Mode, I commented on my disappointment of having to go back to “less successful bands.” In my mind, A-Ha is very much a one-hit wonder. They’re on the side of Make It New that gave us The Vapors, The Knack, or Gary Numan. A short high before fizzling out into complete nothingness. Of course, they had one of the most envious hits of all time, as “Take On Me” has become one of the most recognizable songs of the 20th century with a revolutionary music video to boot. If I had to judge my perception of A-Ha, this is where things would ultimately end based on the track record of various bands I’ve covered.

And yet, some details caught my eye almost immediately. Whereas most bands were reaching the end of their run by 1985, they were just releasing their debut album “Hunting High and Low.” Their success would bleed into the next decade and while they theoretically would reunite and disband a few times, they never were gone for that long. In fact, they just released an album in 2022. For a band I perceived as a one-hit wonder, it’s strange to not only note that they have 11 albums, but they’re technically not even that.

It is true that “Take On Me” is quantifiably their most recognizable song. Outside of James Bond fans who know “The Living Daylights,” there’s little chance of anyone nowadays impulsively rattling off their favorite tracks. This is at least stateside. While many songs from this album didn’t chart significantly, they did have a global success not often seen by Norwegian bands. Tracks like “Hunting High and Low” or “Train of Thought” were able to make a splash elsewhere, leading to enough popularity to lead to a Guinness Book of World Records honor.

Before getting there, it feels important to cover how A-Ha came to be. In 1978, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen were growing up in Manglerud, a suburb of Oslo, Norway. When they were in fifth grade, they joined a vocalist in forming the group Bridges. While they would have a few releases, they ultimately were a gateway. Morten Harket attended one of their concerts and struck up interest in starting a band. Following their 1981 disbandment, A-Ha formed in 1982. Their name came from a song that Morten had written. When it came time to pick managers, they chose John Ratcliff solely because he had a Space Invaders machine in his office. He would eventually help them land the attention of Warner Bros. and lead to their record deal in 1984.

An interesting anomaly to most bands covered is that A-Ha’s first single was also their biggest. The song in its early stages went under several names including “Miss Eerie.” However, there was initial disappointment with it because they had written it as 15-year-olds in a style similar to The Doors and didn’t feel it was right for Bridges. It was recorded a few times before being shopped around to different A&R companies. Harket complained that it sounded like a “Juicy Fruit song” and worried that it would be a dud. With a little reworking, they rerecorded it and landed on the version that has since become their staple hit.

The reality is that it’s difficult to talk about “Hunting High and Low” without being engulfed with the history of “Take On Me.” Its initial failure would have many assume that A-Ha would have to seek success with their other songs. However, the studio believed so much in the song that they kept trying. Along with a failed original music video, they even redid that. Steve Barron would direct “Take On Me,” which mixed live action and animation with the technique of rotoscoping. Even watching it a near 40 years later, it’s easy to see why the video is regarded as revolutionary. There’s a fluidity with which the segments connect. Not only that, but the story in the video is consistent enough that it engages the viewer. Compare that to “Train of Thought” which used a similar technique in a more impersonal way, and you’ll see how rare it was for a video like this to work. Thankfully, the 16 weeks of animation paid off, and it made the song a global success, including a big hit in The United States.

It's difficult to really assess whether or not this is a great song nowadays because of how much it’s played. Given that music is subjective, I can see the larger appeal even though there are elements that are inherently annoying about it in repetitive use. Every time I start my car in 2024, “Take On Me” is bound to play in that 30-minute window. Somedays I love it, others I simply pass it by. I think it helps that it was key to one of my favorite scenes in The Leftovers. All in all, I think the synth-pop production is so infectious that it’s at the very least recognizable. Not just anyone could sing a pop song with a vocal register like Harket. Going from low to high octaves is a talent unto itself, and making it into one of the most difficult Top 40 songs in history to sing is an achievement unto itself. 

To do this album due diligence, I would like to briefly touch on the rest of the album. As a whole, the 10 songs leave me a bit underwhelmed. Even if I can recognize what made them a chart-topping success, I’m ultimately reminded of the side of New Wave that leaves me cold and disinterested. There’s a theatricality and hyper-emotive style here that I find a bit insincere and self-conscious. It feels manufactured in a way that keeps these songs from feeling genuine, and it’s a shame because there’s something about the production that outweighs any interest I have in the vocals. Whereas I loved The Go-Betweens for the strange worlds they took me into, A-Ha feels a bit too reaching for conventionality, making love songs that I only kind of like because they have this yearning quality without any sense of depth.

This may be why “Train of Thought” ended up being my favorite song on the album. While it was lyrically simple, the idea of Harket wandering around coffee shops and thinking of strangers was a powerful image. Songwriter Waaktaar claimed that it was inspired by novels like those of Dostoevsky, and I can see why. There’s this existential search for meaning in a strange and almost mechanical world. The subject goes to work and fulfills their duties without any sense of passion. It’s a world not unlike The Buggles, though maybe without as much hint of irony. It may also explain why the music video reminds me of said band. 

Everything from here isn’t theoretically bad, but I struggled to get the larger appeal of A-Ha on an instinctual level. “Hunting High and Low” is another one of their big singles, and I was left a bit cold on it. Again, maybe it’s just not my style of grand 80s operatic. Even then, I do think that the orchestration behind the vocals is so provocative and exciting that I can’t help but be drawn into the sweeping emotion they allude to. I want to like the song more, but lyrically it’s not saying anything interesting. At most, it’s arguably the song that most benefits from its music video, as it focuses on the subject jumping from a cliff and turning into an animal to reflect the connection between man and nature. 

“The Blue Sky” has its moments of appeal, but it feels like a less fulfilling version of “Train of Thought.” Maybe that’s just because it lacks the pan flute that gives the single its charm. Jumping to “Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale,” I feel like it also suffers from redundancy as it discusses the wandering nature of the singer. It’s a common theme and the aching loneliness should appeal to me, and yet I’m left a bit disinterested because the lyrics don’t do enough to draw me in. They’re more mood pieces, meant to connect to a feeling of loneliness and desire than saying anything meaningful. It’s sort of disappointing to admit that none of these songs have a bridge as thrilling as “Take On Me,” which seems more and more like a fluke.

Jumping to the closer “Here I Stand and Face the Rain,” I found myself taking in the ballad with the similar strain of grandeur that this album strives for. Whereas most bands I’ve covered feel like they give something personal, I struggle to understand what A-Ha’s stamp on New Wave is. They write pop hits, and those are fun, but they’re not as conceptually interesting or subversive as the equally isolating Depeche Mode. If nothing else, I think the occasional dive into more existential themes makes them less likely to be mistaken as a Top 40 band. They do know how to write hooks. It’s just that I feel like they’re not saying much. The one thing I’ll give them credit for is that this song ends with them chanting “A-ha!” in the background, which may be the first time on this list that I’ve seen a band cleverly use their name as a harmony (your move Bow Wow Wow).

As mentioned, their success was inevitable. In Norway, they quickly became a national treasure and one of the country’s biggest music exports in history. With over 10 million copies sold, they were setting the bar high for future acts. At the third annual MTV Video Music Awards, their nominations for “Take On Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on TV” would lead to eight wins, making them a bigger success than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” tying with Peter Gabriel and marking the rare achievement of being the biggest-winning MTV VMA band up to that point who also had more trophies than the biggest winners from the previous years combined. They would also receive a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, losing to Sade. 

The album was omnipresent for the rest of their career. The interest in “Take On Me” would lead to a documentary on the making of. There would be several other documentaries made on the band throughout the future decades. In an attempt to bank on their success, they would return the following year with “Scoundrel Days,” leading to a five album run in eight years. During this time, they were invited to play several Nobel Peace Prize Concerts. In 1991, the band would enter the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest paying audience at a pop concert. They performed at Estadio do Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro for Rock in Rio with 198,000 attendees. This would become such an important moment in their career that they would reunite for a 30th-anniversary performance. 

Like most New Wave bands, they would break up after a quick run. Unlike most groups, this split over creative difficulties only lasted four years before reuniting in 1998 and essentially existed in some form ever since. Except another four-year hiatus between 2011-2015, they continued to tour and make music. Harket released two solo albums between 2012 and 2014. With 11 albums total, A-Ha would become one of the most successful Scandinavian acts in history. In 2012, Furuholmen was a mentor on the Norwegian version of The Voice and led his mentee Martin Halla to win the contest. They are also environmental activist, encouraging people to drive electric cars. In recent years, they even held a tour where they played “Hunting High and Low” in its entirety.

The lasting legacy of their debut album can be seen in unexpected places. According to Glenn Howerton, his sitcom’s name It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is partially inspired by “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” under its original name It’s Always Sunny on T.V. Similarly, the band found unprecedented success with the advent of YouTube. With “Take On Me” the band became only the fifth act from the 20th century to have a music video garnering over a billion views. It goes without saying that they’re also the only Scandinavian band to do this. During their time, they also became one of the few white acts to play on Soul Train.

For the most part, digging into the pockets of history around A-Ha reveals a surprising amount of information. Whereas I expected them to be another act that came and went, it’s mostly an American phenomenon. Even then, “Take On Me” is one of the undeniable, inescapable hits of the 80s that continues to garner acclaim. It’s used everywhere. The only issue is that because of the rest of their catalog not having that much of a success, it’s difficult to notice just how massive their career would become. I expected them to have died out and been a legacy act. Instead, they’re still innovating and pushing for good causes. They may not be my ideal band, but I can’t deny that they’re doing something organic and interesting. I like some of their music, even if it’s not as weird or experimental as I’d like. Then again, I’ve never played for 198,000 people in Rio. What do I know about New Wave music that makes me any better?

Coming Up Next: Devo – “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” (1978)