This is one of those albums to saddle up and hit the dusty trail with as these Norse troubadours are much more of the cowboy than the Viking variety. Guitar, fiddle, trumpet and double bass are all employed as they take us on a cross genre jaunt with somewhat simple yet effective songs which are guaranteed to get in your head and join you down the trail. I guess the biggest surprise here is that the players come from Bergen rather than the American Mid-West but once that fact is taken in the sound translates universally and the bands self-described brand of Dommesdagrock (Doomsday Rock) is easy to appreciate.
Cantering off with the jaunty ‘St Louise’ there is a bounce laden groove that will have you jogging on the spot along to singer Jaran’s narrative vocal story. His clean stance with occasional sharp barks and harmonious croon is easy to get along with and you get enthralled in the tales being laid down here as you listen out for sounds like witchy keyboards and a double bass twang within the music. The chorus is totally addictive and this rocks out admirably with a noir etched dark nightclub sort of vibe about it. Taking on a more rockabilly sort of sound along with an arid Western guitar harmony ‘Give Me Fever’ summons up images of barkers selling all sorts of potions like snake venom to cure all ills as they travel through one small frontier town to the next. Vocals are ever more crooning, theatrical and flamboyant and you find yourself kind of waiting for something like a barroom brawl to break out.
Josephine is a classic tale of love with a big sound to the chorus and one that you can imagine being harmonised by a host of singers including everyone from Nick Cave to Julian Cope. The band make it their own though even if it does sound like a classic from bygone times. That overt feeling of familiarity crops up again and again throughout the album, you could put a group of people together to discuss what this reminds of and they are all going to come up with different answers. That’s no doubt what makes this so compulsive after a couple of at first dismissive listens as it wends its way into both your heart and your soul. Narrative expands into near biblical tales of redemption as on ‘Violets To Stone’ with its clamour of “this is hell,” citing a preacher man caught in the very grip of sin. The Judas Tree has an almost gothic feel to it with some reverb ridden vocal parts and is one of the album’s most fast paced numbers making you wonder what this lot are like to bounce around to live. ‘King Of Light’ provides a real baptism and includes a gospel sounding call and chant chorus that’s particularly catchy on another standout tune. As for ‘High Road’ everybody’s favourite Icelandic gunslinger Aðalbjörn Tryggvason from Solstafir pops up to join on the apocalyptic trek. Finishing with the acoustic title track you are left feeling like you have been on one epic journey, one for me that was wholly worth sticking with.
I could easily see this lot going out on the road themselves with the aforementioned Solstafir and can see them picking up a fair few new friends on the way. Somehow I doubt I have heard the last of these trailblazers.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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