The best known member of this guitar-flavoured Norwegian five-piece surfacing here properly for the first time has to be extravagantly talented In the Country pianist Morten Qvenild (who was on Nils Petter Molvaer’s excellent Switch last year) here also factoring in vocals and programming on this Oslo studio album set. Splashgirl bass guitarist Jo Berger Myhre has a strong international reputation too and makes his presence felt here.
Five pieces in all, the singalong title track kept to last, a low-strung indie rock production-style coating sometimes masks what the band are doing but there’s a little flavour of Portishead poking through on opener ‘Dust Drive’ drummer Pål Hausken chugging away like a well maintained steam driven engine. Yet hooty electronics and a countrified southern rock melodic style rear their head coquettishly on the uplifting Ivar Grydeland tune ‘George Lumineux.’ This is the sort of band that tends to crop up at Dublin fest 12 Points in that they’re impossible to categorise, full of improvising musicians who choose to not really improvise that much apart from around tighter rock forms, the more anthemic ‘No Low Voices’ allowing them to all let go more. The record comes and goes a little too quickly and you’re left really only knowing part of a still untold story but it’s mostly a fun ride. SG
And you can listen to No Low Voices from the album above