I was fortunate enough a couple weeks ago to see Taiga Woods play in their hometown of Oslo, Norway, as part of the Høstsabbat Festival (review here). I’d seen the name around but hadn’t really dug into them before — I’m only one person and I only have so many ears; I’m sorry — and I was able to pick up on the Queens of the Stone Age vibe from their set, but as Cursed Tongue Records announces it will release their 2017 self-titled debut on vinyl early next year, it lists Spidergawd among the influences, and hearing the record and songs like “Epic” and “Slow Burning,” that’s a really good pick. Didn’t occur to me mostly I think because of my inability to apply the geographic context –both bands being Norwegian; lesson learned — but it’s definitely there. You can stream the album in full at the bottom of this post to see if you agree.

Kudos to the band on the vinyl release, and I’m interested to hear what the lineup of the band I saw — which is different from that which appeared on the album — will bring to their next record when the time comes. The self-titled is well worth a revisit in the meantime.

So here it is:

TAIGA WOODS SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR A WORLD WIDE RELEASE OF THEIR SELF TITLED DEBUT ALBUM DUE FOR EARLY 2019.

Cursed Tongue Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Norwegian fuzz-rock-experts Taiga Woods for a release of their self-titled debut full length album in early 2019.

Taiga Woods plays an eclectic genre of heavy. Incorporating stoner rock, prog, psych and 70’s hard rock, on top you’ve got those catchy vocal harmonies. For fans of Queens Of The Stone Age, Spidergawd, Dozer, Truckfighters and Motorpsycho – it’s fuzzy, it’s psychedelic, it’s catchy, it’s heavy yet super melodic – heck it’s even poppy without losing integrity. It’s the perfect burst of energy you need on a grey autumn morning or the right soundtrack for a pool party on a sunny summer day. Whatever the setting, this album will ensure to keep your head bobbing along to the addictive groove and infectious melodies!

Evolving from a single-man band in its inception to a full blown fuzz-rock locomotive the current line-up of Taiga Woods features Erik Skundberg – Guitar / Main Vocal, Ole Ulvik Rokseth – Bass, Jonatan Eikum – Drums and Jøran Normann – Guitar. The band is looking to tour as much as possible and expand on the Taiga Woods sound and appearance. The future sure does look bright in the woods of taiga!

When Taiga Woods released their debut album back in September last year, it turned a lot of heads and garnered quite the notion and recognition from online zines, blogs/reviewers and stoner rock fans alike. We remember being blown off our seats by the sheer likeability and catchiness of ‘Taiga Woods’. The acclaim left the fans screaming for a proper physical release. However this didn’t immediately materialize and the stoner underground had to hang tight on this desire to spin a tangible edition on their turntables. It was at this point that Cursed Tongue Records contacted Taiga Woods and over a couple of months a discussion followed and ideas were exchanged and all the while the mutual interest of getting the tunes out on vinyl deepened and now the time has come to put action behind words.

Cursed Tongue Records has been eager to release Taiga Woods’ smashing album for quite some time and we are stoked that this burning wish finally has came to fruition. We are really looking forward to be bringing these smoking tunes out on high quality heavy weight vinyl in early 2019 to brighten the darkest of winter depressions with a rightful kick in your asses. A big thank you to Erik and the band for trusting us with this fantastic collection of songs. We will bring the goods \,,/

CTR-016 TAIGA WOODS – ‘TAIGA WOODS’, official release date: actual date TBA / February 2019

Taiga Woods is:
Erik Skundberg – Guitar / Main Vocal
Ole Ulvik Rokseth – Bass
Jonatan Eikum – Drums
Jøran Normann – Guitar

The musicians on the album:
Guitars, vocals, bass and keys; Erik Skundberg
Drums and keys; Eirik Myhr
Percussion; Kai Christoffersen

Music and Lyrics by Erik Skundberg

Recorded and mixed in Calmeyer Studio by Kai Christoffersen.
Produced by Kai Christoffersen
Mastered at Propeller Mastering by Chris Sansom.
Artwork and logo by Erik Alm
Mastered for vinyl by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Rec.
Layout & Design by Michael Andresakis

Track listing:

Side A
1. Soul Transmitter
2. Epic
3. Slow Burning
4. Garbageman

Side B
5. Do What You Want
6. Track Of Time
7. The Great Machine

http://taigawoods.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/taigawoodsband/
https://www.instagram.com/taigawoodsband
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtonguerecords

Taiga Woods, Taiga Woods (2017)