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White Tundra Premiere “…Of the Earth”; Self-Titled Debut Out Oct. 27

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on October 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

White Tundra self-titled

This week marks the release of White Tundra‘s self-titled debut full-length, as the three-piece hailing from New-Riff Norway (same Norway, new riffs) will issue the eight-tracker through All Good Clean Records. Running 40 minutes, White Tundra follows the 2021 single “Honningfella” (premiered here) and is a modern fuzz overdose, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Steven Kresin, lead guitarist Christoffer Kjørsvik (also album bass) and drummer Ola Fuglevaag crafting huge-sounding spaces with a mind for impact but not necessarily sticking to one methodology between that, as the careening, cowbell-inclusive shove of “Third Floor” demonstrates when set next to the midtempo “…Of the Eath” (premiering below) or the ambient intro “Fra Askeskog” that precedes eight-minute closer “Byting,” the persona of the band very much in line with an up-and-coming league of heavy acts, but the sound carrying a sense of severity one doesn’t always find in something so decisively not metal.

Shades of bands like VokonisSpaceslug, maybe a less frenetic Skraeckoedlan in some of their tones or a more frenetic Sungrazer with gravelly, echoing vocals if you want to look at it from the other side. The production is huge no matter how you approach White Tundra‘s White Tundra, and from the heavy post-rock sprawl of album-intro “Erwachen…” through the march and push of “…Of the Earth” they provide the depth in which one might immerse for the amp-frying duration and heft enough to keep the white tundralistener couch-locked, whether that the solo over the looped-sounding beat in the second half of “…Of the Earth” or the strident chug of “Find You,” which follows. By the time they get to “Addicted” and “Space Wars” in the middle of the album, they’ve effectively set the context in which the songs take place, and the lumber of “Space Wars” becomes the foundation for one of the record’s most entrancing explorations, a back and forth pattern through the tracklisting assuring that prior single “Third Floor” will keep momentum working in the band’s favor, which it does.

In “Third Floor,” “Space Wars,” “…Of the Earth” and certainly “Byting” and the ambient pieces, one can hear progressive aspects beginning to make themselves known in White Tundra‘s sound, and while one wouldn’t be surprised particularly to hear those come to further realization on subsequent releases, I’m not sure I’m willing to predict where the band will go and if they’ll bring the concrete-crunch tones that chug away in “Byting” with them. They could make five more records that sound just like this and be fine, but there’s growth from the single and the way their material functions throughout this initial collection lends the impression that they’re mindful of bringing variety to their songwriting — that they’re aware the songs they write can and do serve different purposes — which could be a big hint has to future direction and ambitions. Here, the production of Bismarck‘s Leif Herland brings out the physicality of White Tundra‘s crunch, representing their heft well for what will be a first impression for many who take them on. Wherever they may be headed stylistically, White Tundra is a debut worthy of the size of its own sound, and considering, that’s saying something.

Please enjoy “…Of the Earth” below, followed by a few words from the band, the preorder link, and so on:

White Tundra on “…Of the Earth”:

“…Of the Earth is the story of a new earth rising up in the aftermath of the old broken one. This is the second track on the album following the intro track Erwachen… (means “awakening” in German) which is a build-up to the rest of the album as well as …of the Earth. It was one of the first songs we wrote for the album and it kind of sets the tone for the rest of the album regarding to sound and songwriting with a bit more melodic riffs than we have produced before. This might be the most headbanging-friendly song on the album, and we are really happy with the groove on …of the Earth. The lyrics can be interpreted as either positive or pure doomsday prophecies depending on your mood.”

Pre-order link: https://whitetundra.bandcamp.com/album/white-tundra

White Tundra has been around since 2018 with core members Ola Fuglevaag (drums) and Steven Kresin (vocals / guitar) as the creative driving forces behind White Tundra’s music. Despite some line up changes they have stayed true to their sound and continued writing and recording new music. The EP “Graveyard Blues” was released digitally in 2020 and on MC in 2021 and the 7” vinyl single “Honningfella” came out the same year. 2022 was spent recording their self titled debut album with new guitarist Christoffer Kjørsvik who also plays in Norwegian black metal band Sworn.

Produced by the band along with Leif Herland at Polyfon Studios, mastered by Rhys Marsh at Autumnsongs Recording Studio and featuring the artwork of Thomas Moe Ellefsrud from HypnotistDesign, “White Tundra” is set for release digitally and on vinyl on October 27th via All Good Clean Records.

Line-up:
Steven Kresin: Vocals and guitar
Christoffer Kjørsvik: Lead guitar (and bass guitar on the album)
Ola Fuglevaag: Drums

White Tundra, White Tundra (2023)

White Tundra on Facebook

White Tundra on Instagram

White Tundra on Bandcamp

All Good Clean Records on Facebook

All Good Clean Records website

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White Tundra Post “Third Floor”; Self-Titled LP Out Oct. 27

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

White Tundra

It’s been a minute, but Norwegian trio White Tundra did a premiere here in 2021 for their single “Honningfella” and I recall digging it a lot. If you haven’t yet gotten on board with New Heavy Norway — acts like Slomosa, Dune Sea, Kryptograf, Kanaan, Bismarck (whose Leif Herland produced here), Saint Karloff, not to mention Black Moon Circle, SÂVER or Kal-El, the grandmasters Motorpsycho (not that they’re exactly ‘new’) or anyone else in the full musical spectrum of creativity taking place in the country as we speak, White Tundra right in it — I can only recommend doing so by whatever avenue you might choose to take to get there. It’s a vibrant underground, with scene pockets in Trondheim, Oslo, etc., and for the last several years it’s been churning out quality first and second records like they were lutefisk, and by the end of this decade, yeah, some of these acts will restructure, disband, and so on, but those that remain will be all the more strident.

Those are generalizations, if things I genuinely believe. To be more specific to White Tundra, the trio are getting set to release a self-titled LP at the end of this month through All Good Clean Records. It is, in fact, their debut, and the shove and semi-burl of “Third Floor” is the second single from it. Why didn’t I post the first? Because as I’ve been telling you for years now, I’m terrible at this. After you take a listen to the White Tundra track and maybe check out the other 10 Norwegian bands I just suggested, you should maybe think about taking your business elsewhere. Ha.

From the PR wire:

White Tundra self-titled

White Tundra – Norwegian Stoner Rock Trio Announce Self-Titled New Album

Release New Song “Third Floor”

October 27th through All Good Clean Records, the collective recently unveiled another song off the album through their Bandcamp page.

Titled “Third Floor”, this new track is now playing at this location: https://whitetundra.bandcamp.com/track/third-floor

Produced by the band along with Leif Herland at Polyfon Studios, mastered by Rhys Marsh at Autumnsongs Recording Studio and featuring the artwork of Thomas Moe Ellefsrud from Hypnotist Design, “White Tundra” journeys through heavy atmospheric melodies, across the dusty tundra and through murky woods. Subtle pulses, inspired by black metal soundscapes White Tundra stays true to their earlier material’s orientation with accentuating pace and slow riffing. Pre-order the album and stream leading single Erwachen at this location.

White Tundra has been around since 2018 with core members Ola Fuglevaag (drums) and Steven Kresin (vocals / guitar) as the creative driving forces behind White Tundra’s music. Despite some line up changes they have stayed true to their sound and continued writing and recording new music. The EP “Graveyard Blues” was released digitally in 2020 and on MC in 2021 and the 7” vinyl single “Honningfella” came out the same year. 2022 was spent recording their self titled debut album with new guitarist Christoffer Kjørsvik who also plays in Norwegian black metal band Sworn.

Line-up:
Steven Kresin: Vocals and guitar
Christoffer Kjørsvik: Lead guitar (and bass guitar on the album)
Ola Fuglevaag: Drums

https://www.facebook.com/WhiteTundraBand
https://www.instagram.com/whitetundraband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/whitetundra

https://www.facebook.com/allgoodcleanrecords
http://www.allgoodcleanrecords.com
https://store.allgoodcleanrecords.com

White Tundra, White Tundra (2023)

White Tundra, “Third Floor”

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Full Album Premiere & Review: Dune Sea, Orbital Distortion

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on November 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Dune Sea Orbital Distortion

Trondheim, Norway-based heavy psychedelic rockers Dune Sea release their third album, Orbital Distortion, this Friday, Nov. 11, through All Good Clean Records. It is a record whose attention to detail takes the band’s songwriting to a new level, and as the follow-up to 2020’s Moons of Uranus (review here) and their 2019 self-titled debut (review here), it feels very much like a realization and manifestation of what’s been their driving intention all along. The trio of vocalist/guitarist/synthesist Ole Nogva, bassist/synthesist Petter Solvik Dahle and drummer Viktor Olsen Kristensen (also percussion) reach beyond the confines of microgenre to craft a vision of psych rock that’s informed by, among other things, Norse culture, modern cosmic stylings, fuzz fuzz fuzz, and an underlying current of prog that’s as much heard in “Astro Chimp” as the violin on “Hubro.” To say it plainly, Orbital Distortion is gorgeous and expansive, individualized in its craft and admirably broad in its scope, with lyrics switching between delivery in English and Norwegian, brief jammy stretches that would sound made up on the spot if they weren’t so thoughtfully executed, with even a bit of space disco for good measure. Can’t go wrong.

The eight component pieces of Orbital Distortion are longer on average than were the tracks on Moons of Uranus, and where that album had seven of 10 total tracks under four minutes long, the newer LP has one of the total eight in its utterly-manageable 39-minute runtime, but the point is in how that time is spent. From the misleading, almost-Nebula-esque sneer in the early verse of “Astro Chimp” that unfolds into an inviting hook to the nod to extreme metal in closer “Hevn,” Dune Sea make a resounding argument for the benefits of artists listening to music outside their own style. There’s influences from Britpop and hip-hop, indie rock, various world folk musics and beyond as Orbital Distortion unfolds, and by the time “Astro Chimp” is done, the trio have not only displayed these wares but still found room to redirect to a standout riff at the end. In this way, the lead cut sets the tone for the rest of what follows in that it is masterful, composed and rife with purpose. Even in longer pieces like “Hubro,” “Anesthesia” and “Hevn,” which stretch past five minutes — the closer tops seven and is the longest piece Dune Sea have written to-date — the band maintain telltale poise and guide their listener through their deeply varied material with a sure and welcoming hand.

“Hubro” introduces the violin and Norwegian lyrics, some shaker percussion and a deceptively sharp-edged riff nodding into a light shove boogie verse with acoustic guitar layered in. There’s a layered wash in the midsection, quickly-enough resolved back to the catchy guitar line. Bands have made careers with less sonic breadth than Dune Sea show in this 5:28, but the point is there’s room enough in their sound to accommodate whatever changes come as they move toward and through the hook, still using stylization as a tool rather than a standard to uphold. In “Euphorialis” and “Draugen,” which follow and continue to alternate between languages.

The acoustic guitar is held over, but “Euphorialis” brings the bass up front and hits harder on the drums, the guitar stretching out as a bed for the echoing psych vocals. They depart into a jam, return, go again, holding to a space rock tension but not fully committing to it or aping neo-psych bounce (kudos on avoiding the temptation), even as the song explodes into its repetitions of the title in the second half, which is an effective transition into “Draugen,” which ups the metallic quotient in harsher layers of backing vocals, vital fuzz, shades of folk metal, prog, Bowie. It is dynamic and a vocal highlight, but not by any means the only one and not relying strictly on the vocals to get its point across as the engrossing fuzz guitar swells for the next turnaround to the chorus.

It’s notable that as “Draugen” crashes out at 3:30, the instrumental stretch that comprises the rest of the song feels specifically culled from an All Them Witches influence, but is perhaps more Norwegiana than Americana, and that’s a fit for the lead guitar line that starts “Gargantua” as well, which is more decisively folk metal in its twists — Amorphis‘ “Forever More” is a relevant comparison point — even as its verse taps into a meditative psych that “Trinity” will push further, blending aspects of Middle Eastern pop into its guitar and keyboard lines. An extra layer of percussion (or at least what sounds like one) bolsters the sans-lyrics chorus, while the verse pattern of the vocals actually sets the march.

At 4:21, “Trinity” feels like it ends where for a lot of bands it would most likely just be taking off into some meandering progression or other, but Dune Sea made the right choice to serve the song as it is in ending it where they do, and that’s emblematic of their ethic overall in how Orbital Distortion is structured and built, one song into the next, each one making the record stronger. There’s a fakeout ending before “Trinity” gives way to “Anesthesia” — good fun, quick — and the penultimate track starts riffier but doesn’t shy away from poppier melody in its bassline or the wash that arrives with the chorus. Keys, guitar, vocals, all pushed by the drums, surround and touch on metallic angularity, but are thoroughly progged and refuse to be one single thing or style, even as the lead guitar holds an adjacent position to the central movement of the piece in such classic style. Another tonal highlight, “Anesthesia” gives way to an answer to the instrumental finish of “Draugen,” with mellow, feedback-laced guitar fading to silence from which “Hevn” rises.

Rises and runs. The gallop isn’t quite immediate, but it’s not far off. A rougher edge pushes “Hevn”‘s vocals down in the mix so they too can be swept up in the cosmic boogie, which unfolds something like Hawkwind fighting Iron Maiden with Devin Townsend as referee. A positively dreamy midsection, delivered confident, resolute, becomes a progressive-style chug with acoustic guitar and synth tied in, moving into a suitable but not at all overblown finale. To say it’s classy is perhaps underselling some of its bite, but whatever flawed and inherently-at-least-partially-inaccurate genre-based descriptors one might want to use to position this or that measure of a given piece, Orbital Distortion‘s ultimate triumph is moving past these concerns while keeping the band’s established modus of writing short(er), mostly tight-knit songs.

That is the foundation from which their third album soars, and it absolutely does soar. If this is going to be Dune Sea‘s progression — because they in no way sound ready to rest on laurels — then they are on their way to becoming something truly special as a group. One had high hopes coming off of Moons of Uranus, goofily titled as it was. Those hopes have been surpassed and then some by Orbital Distortion. This band deserves your time.

You’ll find the full stream of Orbital Distortion below. I’m honored to host it.

Please enjoy:

Dune Sea on Orbital Distortion:

On the new album we have evolved our songwriting to longer tracks, and included a Norwegian-folk music vibe to some of the songs. This is also the first time we have included Norwegian lyrics. With only eight songs, we have focused on each individual one being almost in a genre itself, with its own sound and production/idea. This time we also include elements of acoustic guitar, violin and screamed vocals by guest appearances. That said, the good space rock/stoner feeling is always safely placed at the bottom.

Since their self-titled debut album in 2019, Dune Sea have establish themselves as a solid part of the Norwegian psych-scene. Their psych-space rock universe has expanded for every release and on this effort it seems like they have left the Earth for good to cruise throughout the cosmos.

Line-Up:
Ole Nogva – Vocals, guitar, and synthesizer
Petter Solvik Dahle – Bass and synthesizer
Viktor Olsen Kristensen – Drums and percussion

Dune Sea on Instagram

Dune Sea on Facebook

Dune Sea on Bandcamp

Dune Sea on Soundcloud

All Good Clean Records on Thee Facebooks

All Good Clean Records website

All Good Clean Records webstore

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Dune Sea to Release Orbital Distortion Nov. 11; New Song Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

dune sea

It’ll be just about two years on Nov. 11 when Trondheim trio Dune Sea release Orbital Distortion as the follow-up to 2020’s Moons of Uranus (review here) and only over three since their 2019 self-titled debut (review here), but maturity seems to be coming quickly to the Norwegian outfit as they present “Hubro” as the new single from the impending release. All Good Clean Records is once more behind the offering, and a surely as ‘c’ is for ‘cowabunga,’ the track streaming below is a heavy cosmic rocker that, even just at five minutes, has reach well beyond where the airplanes go.

I got hit up to do a premiere for this record, and space is tight between now and the 11th, but I’m gonna see if I can’t make something happen in that regard anyway. A lot of the younger-bands heavy rock attention these days is on Slomosa and Kanaan, who’ve been out touring hard and earning it to be sure, but Dune Sea do something a little more about texture and atmosphere, and show that if you’re looking at the up and coming generation of outfits — that is, no grey beards in the press photos — there’s no shortage of aural diversity emerging between different bands.

Also, Trondheim. I damn near got on a train from Oslo earlier this month on a whim just to see the place where so much right on music comes from. Alas, my tourist card remains unpunched in this regard.

From the PR wire:

Dune Sea Orbital Distortion

Dune Sea – Norwegian Psych/Stoner-Rockers Share New Song “Hubro”

Norwegian psych/stoner rockers Dune Sea have recently shared a new song off their third album “Orbital Distortion”, which is set for release on November 11th via All Good Clean Records.

Titled “Hubro”, this song is the first taster of what’s to expect from “Orbital Distortion” and sees the Norwegian trio delving further into space rock, taking off for a grand musical journey into outer space.

Since their self-titled debut album in 2019, Dune Sea have establish themselves as a solid part of the Norwegian psych-scene. Their psych-space rock universe has expanded for every release and with their upcoming 3rd album “Orbital Distortion” it seems like they have left the Earth for good cruising though the cosmos.

https://instagram.com/duneseaband
https://www.facebook.com/duneseaband
https://dunesea1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/allgoodcleanrecords
http://www.allgoodcleanrecords.com
https://store.allgoodcleanrecords.com

Dune Sea, “Hubro”

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Suncraft Premiere “Bridges to Nowhere”; Flat Earth Rider out Aug. 6

Posted in audiObelisk on July 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

suncraft

Norwegian heavy rockers Suncraft release their debut album, Flat Earth Rider, on Aug. 6 through All Good Clean Records. In the vast annals of modern conspiracy theory, those who are committed to the notion of the planet being a disc which one might one day go off the side — ridiculous; reality as a holographic simulation, on the other hand… — are ultimately harmless, at least in comparative terms, and as Suncraft‘s first full-length following behind a few Spotify-able singles likewise content to dig into its own stylistic niche, throw a burly elbow here and there en route to hard-hitting, forward push hooks, but especially early on in “Flat Earth Rider” and “Space Buddha,” the Oslo four-piece seem to be exploring their way through songwriting toward establishing their sound and discovering who they are as a band. The double-guitars of Sigurd Grøtan and Vebjørn Rindal Krogstad lead that charge and boast duly charged leads, while bassist Rasmus Skage Jensen serves vocal duties and drummer Tobias Paulsen patiently awaits the next change requiring a fluid transition, leading the riffs from inside the pocket.

Jensen‘s vocals get into gruffer fare in “Flat Earth Rider,” centerpiece “Lingo Hive Mind,” and here and there throughout “Commie Cannibals and even the more spacious “Adaptation” ahead of the 11-minute closer “Bridges to Nowhere” (premiering below), but the delivery is more dynamic than, say, a cleaner verse and shouted chorus, or vice versa. It might Suncraft Flat Earth Riderbe a line or two with a throatier delivery, then back to a burgeoning melody making a song like “Space Buddha” or “Lingo Hive Mind” less predictable for the single fact that one is less sure where it’s going to turn next, even if the underlying structures are largely straightforward. These clever arrangements, coupled with the ability of the guitars to push the energy of a song forward with a sense of build to which the drums are only suited, help to give Flat Earth Rider its sonic persona, which doesn’t seem to be taking itself too seriously but can bear significant heft when inclined to do so, as in the rolling chorus of “Commie Cannibals” or the early verses of “Bridges to Nowhere,” which opens in its midsection to more complex melodic layering before surging outward and paying off the touches of metallic aggression and progressive heavy rock that have shown themselves across the six-song span to that point.

That span is manageable at 37 minutes and of course vinyl-ready with the atmospheric echo of “Adaptation” signifying a shift to side B even digitally, but that movement becomes important to someone making their way through the entirety, and it feels like another level on which Suncraft‘s potential shines through. The rougher-edged moments bring to mind Orange Goblin from the title-track onward, and “Flat Earth Rider” indeed sets the tone for side A with the hooks of “Space Buddha,” “Lingo Hive Mind” — for which I’d love to read the lyrics; getting a very “guess I’ll go live on the internet” kind of vibe from what I can discern — and the more weighted, longer “Commie Cannibals” acting as a bookend for what’s almost the first of two mini-albums, with “Adaptation” and “Bridges to Nowhere” serving as the second, broader in ambition but holding to a lack of pretense on the whole. All of this rounds out to an affect that makes me less concerned about where Suncraft are going — surely not off the end of the earth — than where they are now.

Their songcraft is obviously in capable hands, and their performance is energetic without losing the thread of its own purpose in being part of the larger album as a whole. If you were looking for an encouraging debut from a relative-newcomer heavy rock band, well, that’s one thing you can tick off your to-do list for today. Cheers. Take the rest of the afternoon off.

Enjoy “Bridges to Nowhere” on the player below, followed by some comment from the band and more info from the PR wire.

Dive in:

Suncraft on “Bridges to Nowhere”:

“Bridges to Nowhere” is the closing track on Suncraft’s debut album, Flat Earth Rider. A ten-minute, ever-changing epic, the song is a journey of a listen, not holding back on anything the band has to offer. Heavy stoner rock riffs, impactful build-ups, thrash-metal-like choruses, riveting guitar solos and intense blast-beats are some of the features to expect. Lyrically, the song is about alienation from a commodity-based society, as seldom knowing where the commodities we buy come from, who made them and why, can make us feel disconnected from others. The song gradually turns from despair to hope and optimism, insisting that a better future is possible.

“Flat Earth Rider” was produced, mixed and mastered by Ruben Willem (The Good The Bad and The Zugly, Okkultokrati, Djevel, etc…) and features six unique tracks that show Suncraft combining elements from groovy stoner rock and riff-based heavy metal.

Since late 2017, this Oslo-based quartet have played their fair share of club shows in the nooks and crannies of Norway, honing the craft of playing explosively energetic concerts. After releasing released their debut EP, “Saigon” in 2019, the live-performances abruptly ended due to Covid-19. Turning the blow of the pandemic into a positive, the boys put all their efforts into writing their debut album, “Flat Earth Rider” and as soon as the world is safe enough, Suncraft will hit the road again and bring their unique flavor of rock n’ roll to a growing audience.

Line-up:
Rasmus Skage Jensen: Bass/Vocal
Tobias Paulsen: Drums
Sigurd Grøtan: Guitar
Vebjørn Rindal Krogstad: Guitar

Suncraft on Facebook

Suncraft on Instagram

Suncraft on Spotify

All Good Clean Records on Facebook

All Good Clean Records website

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White Tundra Premiere “Honningfella” From New 7″

Posted in audiObelisk on June 3rd, 2021 by JJ Koczan

white tundra

Norwegian heavy rockers White Tundra release their new seven-inch single Honningfella on June 11 through All Good Clean Records. The Trondheim-based four-piece released their Graveyard Blues EP last March — the same week the world ended, more or less — and seem well within their rights to follow it up with a two-songer that stretches the limits of the 7″ format at a meaty 11 minutes in length. It’s an affair defined in no small part by its brashness, and as the title-track remains wildly catchy, propelled into imaginary entire-drunken-venue singalongs, fists in the air and the like by its non-lyric “whoa-whoa-whoooa” chorus following the plundering path of the coinciding riff, it’s still a bruiser, make no mistake. Some of those fists in the air are landing punches.

So it was on the EP as well, that four-song offering digging into vibes like earlier Clutch or Orange Goblin circa 2005. Heavy. Beery. Swaggering. White Tundra‘s rawness is accented by the vocals, but by no means limited to them. The guitar fuzz pushes out of both channels, and the cymbal crash behind cuts through with a punkish sense of straightforwardness. white tundra honningfellaThey’re a heavy rock band, but “Honningfella” delights in its rougher edge, and is all the more exciting for that, breaking in its midsection only to resume the circle-pit-but-nobody’s-a-dick-about-it shove to close out.

Thus ensues the more fuzz-forward “One More Place,” which tips over the six-minute line and makes a fitting B-side, following the immediacy of the prior cut with a groove that’s distinct but complementary. Stops in the verse let the lyrics pop out but they’re still willfully mumbled en route to the shoutier chorus and that’s just fine. The sort of inebriated primitivism on display remains good fun throughout, and they give it a little extra oomph at the end that feels bolstered by the mix and master from Truckfighters‘ own Niklas Källgren at the famed Studio Bombshelter, finishing with a solo on top of another duly electrified progression.

Thinking album? Yeah, they might be. And between what they show on Honningfella and Graveyard Blues they might have enough different looks to get there, but at this point, one of their assets is that they sound like a new band feeling out the stylistic ground they want to cover. White Tundra know their influences, sure enough, and they know what they’re going for, but the process of discovering how to manifest that is something precious, and it’s more important that they keep writing songs at this point than that they set themselves to some grander task. If a record happens or there’s some longer-form story they want to tell, bonus. But for a group so very clearly reveling in the pummel of these tracks, their best course would seem to be to keep going with what they’re doing and let the rest sort itself out naturally.

In any case, the single’s a blast. You’ll find it streaming on the player below, followed by a few words from the band.

Enjoy:

White Tundra on “Honingfella”:

‘Honningfella’ means ‘honey trap’ in Norwegian. The lyrics spins around the occult and undefined fear of the darkness and unseen but also obvious traps hidden behind beauty or gullibility. The theme in Honningfella is symbolised in the artwork of the single.

Active for the last four years, White Tundra have released one EP titled “Graveyard Blues” on All Good Clean Records last year and now are back with a new 7inch “Honningfella” to be released once again on All Good Clean Records.

Recorded in Trondheim, mixed and mastered by Niklas Källgren of Truckfighters and Enigma Experience at his studio Bombshelter, “Honningfella” is deeply rooted in the dirtier side of stoner rock, displaying a heavy riffage and uncompromising rhythms inspired by the likes of Monster Magnet, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats and Skraeckoedlan.

White Tundra on Facebook

White Tundra on Instagram

White Tundra on Bandcamp

All Good Clean Records on Facebook

All Good Clean Records website

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Review & Full Album Stream: Dune Sea, Moons of Uranus

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on November 3rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan

dune sea moons of uranus

[Click play above to stream Dune Sea’s Moons of Uranus in its entirety. Album is out Nov. 13 on All Good Clean Records.]

It’s a big universe, so why shouldn’t Dune Sea find a place of their own in it? The Norwegian trio embark on a niche recon with their second full-length in as many years, Moons of Uranus, and so take the delightful genre meld of their self-titled debut (review here) and push it a year and a half later into a kind of cross-franchise hyperdrive. Dropping references to “Sarlacc” and “Tusken” from Star Wars, “First Contact” from Star Trek and “Draw 4” from the card game Uno along their way, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Ole Nogva, bassist Petter Solvik Dahle and new drummer Viktor Olsen Kristensen (joined in place of Erik Bråten, who played on the last album) pull likewise from various heavy style elements, tearing into a classically strutting solo on “Tusken” atop a rolling bassline only to  push into semi-motorik beatmaking on “Air” and minor-key mysticism on “Oracle.”

Nogva, who founded the band, is a key presence throughout, but from the garage doom swagger of “First Contact” at the outset — where else to put such a song? — the growth of the band is evident in how they work to make their sound their own, creative runs of synthesizer adding flourish and nuance to the material as they go. At their thickest, as with the dug-in low end of the title-track, where they might remind of some of Spaceslug‘s melody-in-vacuum, but Dune Sea songs move in a way that holds firm to their heavy rock underpinnings, so that even while the telltale fuzz of “Shaman” might sound like British Steel in space, it’s not disjointed from its surroundings for that. Or at least not any more than it’s intended to be. Running 10 songs and 34 minutes, Moons of Uranus is manageable and thoroughly unpretentious for the apparent ease with which it engulfs microgenres and regurgitates them like a suddenly active Martian volcano, and the more one listens, the more one is ingrained into its methods.

This is accomplished in part through a deceptive clarity of purpose and structure beneath all the aesthetic shuffling. “First Contact” is a cry for assistance into the void — so, timely — and rushes behind its first of two keyboard solos, but its pleading “Please turn around/Please come back/We need your help/Please come back,” is a memorable first impression and while structurally grounded, the theme of interstellar communication bolsters the kosmiche excursions that follow. Are Dune Sea more grounded than they were a year ago? I don’t think so, but I’m also not sure that’s the right question to be asking, since the debut proved so well the solidity of their foundation. What one finds through “Shaman” and the subsequent two-and-a-half-minute space rocker “Absinthe Blues” is that the band’s vision of heavy psychedelia is encompassing, and whether that’s conjuring modes of space, fuzz, ’70s heavy or prog rocks, they’re able to bring whatever they do into the sphere of these proceedings.

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“Tusken” puts the melody line of the keyboards forward and is stronger for that turn after the more guitar-minded “Absinthe Blues,” but its rhythmic foundation in Dahle‘s punchy bass tone and Kristensen‘s crash-happy drumming is so set that there’s never a question about whether Dune Sea will return from however far out they venture. And they do. And efficiently. By the time side A closes with the title-track — also the longest song yet at just 4:06 — they have wasted not a minute of Moons of Uranus‘ time or the listener’s, and even in the atmospheric introduction to “Moons of Uranus” itself, the stage is being set for an instrumental hook and an explosion of spacious wash that’s immersive and propulsive in kind. That too is not any longer than it needs to be, and in the fading of residual melody, one almost imagines the band reminding themselves to keep it quick, not allowing themselves to veer too far away from the central intent of their craft.

Side B’s “Air” is the second of only three songs over the four-minute mark in terms of runtime — the other is the closer “Globe of Dust”; longest at 4:48 — and it brings together guitar and synth with a riff born out of classic heavy and a verse chug that’s rife with personality and tonal detailing matched in rhythm by the tambourine that moves along with the drums. The sound is warm but gives way to a standalone keyboard solo before bouncing back in a way perhaps as to signal that the second half of Moons of Uranus will stretch even broader than did the first. So be it. “Air” rolls to its end ahead of the speedy “Draw 4” with its there-and-gone two-minute run that still manages somehow to evoke folk metal in its middle and then turn back to its verse like nothing ever happened, turning the procession over to “Oracle,” which is clearly positioned a moment of contemplation. Vocals are deeper in the mix, guitars are forward and meditative if still somewhat impatient, and it’s not until nearly three minutes in that they crash into a bout of Sabbathian riffing that serves as the apex or perhaps revelation in keeping with the “Oracle” theme.

That side B sense of departure is lived up to in some of the disjointedness between “Air” and “Draw 4” and “Oracle” and “Sarlacc” is tasked with reorienting the audience ahead of the finale, which it does through layered space-echo vocals and forward charge, winding but inviting for all that. It does its job, and “Globe of Dust” follows with a lurch more resonant for its echoing snare pops in its verse and the transmuted “Iron Man” riff of its bridge, marching like Witch blasted to their molecules before at last in their final minute, Dune Sea find synthy glories to behold, a tunnel perhaps of bright-light slipstream that consumes the track, the band, and whatever else might happen across its gravitational field. Given the quick turnaround even with a lineup change and the aspects carried over from the debut, easy to think of Moons of Uranus as a next step in the band’s process of developing their sound and their methods on the whole. If that’s the case, it’s an engaging one, and it still holds promise for what they might accomplish as they push further into uncharted cosmos.

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Dune Sea Premiere “Dune Sea” from Self-Titled Debut LP out May 3

Posted in audiObelisk on April 18th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

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Dune Sea release their self-titled debut album May 3 through All Good Clean Records. The Norwegian band began as the project of guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist and noisemaker Ole Nogva, who gradually was joined by drummer Erik Bråten and bassist Petter Solvik Dahle, and though their moniker might conjure all sorts of images of retread desert rock riffing, the truth of what they do throughout the nine-track/31-minute Dune Sea is much more complex, drawing from the synth-laced space thrust of closer “Cosmic Playground” and the jangle-into-drift-into-futuristic-push of “Morphine,” which isn’t the first track on the record to be named after a controlled substance, following as it does a few songs behind opener “Pentobarbital and Ethanol.” All around the album, cuts like the eponymous “Dune Sea” and the subsequent brief fuzz wash and stomping rhythm of “Future,” the brief keyboard infusion in “Bounty Hunter” — like a heavy version of proto-New Wave space vibing — and the cosmic command in “Astrodelic Breakdown” lead the listener on a charted but varied course into the greater reaches of the far out, engines burning at warp factor whatever as the stars turn to streaks outside the window.

If it’s desert rock, then, it’s a desert on some distant undiscovered world waiting for the most intrepid of explorers.

But let’s leave the moniker behind much as the penultimate “Awake” leaves the ground. Dune Sea play dune sea cosmic playgroundfully-activated cosmic heavy rock. It’s an amalgam ultimately of space, psych and progressive styles, but their debut full-length — and when you listen through and think about that, that’s really the scary part; this is their first record — careens between them with such a fluid playout that it’s nearly impossible to pin down where one element ends and the next begins. Tones and grooves are hypnotic, melody is pervasive, and the spirit and energy with which Dune Sea handle the turns from one piece to another, as on the absolutely-drenched-in-acid classic psych rocking centerpiece “Green,” are infectious to the point of entering the bloodstream. That starts right from the ultra-swing at the apex of “Pentobarbital and Ethanol,” with a full album’s worth of swagger packed into about 35 seconds that lead the way into the rest of Dune Sea with an assured push that sets up the rest of the madness to follow. Dudes are right off the wall. I mean really. We’re talking about the snozzberries tasting like snozzberries, here. It’s a trip that should come with a warning label: “This machine alienates squares.”

And it’s 31 minutes. Short for an LP, but that too becomes a strength on the part of the band, because they manage to pack so much into that time. It’s condensed, but somehow when you listen, it feels like the songs unfold over a much more spacious scale than they do. That’s credit to the mix, which is packed with layers of lysergic detailing, but there’s a constant melodic presence as well through even the various vocal effects that helps the listener along this purposefully bumpy path, and that only makes the record all the more of a joyful undertaking. I’m saying that if you think you can get down, you should.

To that end, I’m thrilled to host Dune Sea‘s “Dune Sea” from Dune Sea as a premiere for your streaming pleasure below. Second of the nine inclusions, the eponymous song on any band’s record can serve as a crucial statement of intent and who they are, and as Dune Sea cry out for freedom in the track, they would seem to be making precisely that statement. Crack open your skull and pour this one in. Somehow I doubt you’ll regret it.

Enjoy:

Dune Sea is a power trio from Norway playing a stoner rock mixed with shoegaze and space rock. The Trondheim based group are often compared with bands like Hawkwind and Queens of the Stone Age.

The Dune Sea album features nine tracks that range from stretched out psychedelic sci-fi soundscapes to synth based monolithic riffs. The sound unfolds within a cinematic universe, which is both retro and futuristic.

The band started out as Ole Nogva’s solo project back in 2012. Drummer Erik Bråten joined Ole in the spring of 2017 to record drums for the EP “All Quiet Under The Suns”.

In early 2018 bassplayer Petter Solvik Dahle became a permanent member of Dune Sea and the recording process of their self-titled debut album began. The album is recorded and produced by the band themselves in various locations in Trondheim and will be released through All Good Clean Records on May 3rd 2019. The mastering is done by Rhys Marsh at Autumnsongs Recording Studio.

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