Serving a perfect treat for fans of Tigers Jaw, The Beths, Weezer, Girl in Red, Paramore, Clairo, Superchunk, Built to Spill, The Get up Kids, Charly Bliss, or The Anniversary, Norway based ONSLOOW also got this undercurrent of pop punk flair, with gritty edge on the guitars that hides behind fun and pop friendly choruses, bathed in rousing and dreamy powerpop. All combined with the sweet and feminine energy of the charming, inviting and confident lead vocal work of Johanne Rimul. We asked the band to share their picks for best Norwegian acts under the radar and today we’re stoked to give you their rundown below!
“Being With You” sees the band speeding up the bpm with ferocious drumming, but not leaving behind the hooks, handclaps and pop sensibilities from their previous singles. The positive energy of the song goes hand in glove with the life-affirming lyrics about being truly in love!
ONSLOOW‘s new self-titled album sees the band spreading their positive energy and life-affirming lyrics about being truly in love!
The production of Marius Ergo (Lukestar, Truls and The Trees, Insomniac Bears) wrap it together in a warm and intuitive way. Sometimes clean, sometimes chaotic, but always well developed with energy and momentum, which seizes the listener with its motion and drags them along for the ride.
ONSLOOW’s guide to the Norwegian scene:
Flight Mode
Our pals in Flight Mode actually recorded their ep TX’98 back in 2017, but didn’t release it until last year. This is top notch emo, and we’re so glad listeners all over the world seem to agree. They’ve recorded a new ep that’s coming out later this year, so prepare to fall in love with these guys again! Playing with them and Neighboring Sounds in Oslo last fall was a blast!
Crash
Speaking of Neighboring Sounds – the guys from Bergen on the west coast of Norway used to call themselves Crash, and a long time ago they put out a real classic. Their 10″ Young Boy I Can Help You Through Your Exams is one of those records packed with hits, hooks and sincerity. Hugely slept on these days, and should be up there on the top list of emo records from the early 00’s.
Posterboys
We have a weak spot for powerpop, and there’s this band in Oslo called Posterboys. They’re kind of lowkey and rarely play live, but holy shit their records are pure powerpop fire! On their last album Foods they kind of sound like Norwegian legends Motorpsycho did before they got lost in 70s heavy rock and became boring haha. Just listen to this song over and over. A real gem!
Beezewax
We can’t talk about Norwegian powerpop without mentioning Beezewax! I remember seeing ALL their shows in Oslo back when they put out South of Boredom and couldn’t believe there was a band from around here sounding this cool. Since then they’ve put out tons of quality albums, and a couple of years ago we had the honor of supporting them on our first gig, which felt really special. Just last year front man Kenneth Ishak released a beautiful solo album called Native Tongue that comes highly recommended, but for us I guess it will always be South Of Boredom that hits the sweetest spot.
Sad Chloë
An two hour drive from Oslo, in the deep woods close to Sweden, lies this small town called Elverum. I don’t know what’s in their drinking water, but I’ll buy a gallon of it, ’cause for years now a lot of talent and sweet music can be traced back to Elverum. The town’s biggest star I guess is Tord, who moved to England and is currently topping the album charts with his band The Wombats. Then it’s Marius and his project Team Me, who is one of the biggest indie bands here in Norway. Members of Team Me also play in other really nice bands, like the übercatchy Killer Kid Mozart and noise rock outfit Sad Chloë. Guitarist Uno Møller lives deep in the woods and records amazing stuff w Sad Chloë that everyone who ever owned a Sonic Youth record should check out. So please do!
Misty Coast
Linn and Anne Lise Frøkedal are two sisters with so many cool past and present musical projects that this list basically could be about just them. Anne Lise Frøkedal has established herself as one of the best songwriters in Norway through her own projects Frøkedal, Frøkedal & familien and her amazing powerpopband I Was A King – start digging! Sister Linn and her partner Richard Myklebust have done a lot of good stuff as well, with the shoegazy Megaphonic Thrift and their duo project Misty Coast. Last year’s album When I Fall From The Sky by Misty Coast was on heavy rotation in the Onsloow hq, in all it’s psychedelic glory. Give it a try!
Problems
Ok, let’s get aggressive. There’s been a constant flow of quality hardcore-affeliated bands from Norway, either it’s Kafka Prosess and So Much Hate from the 80’s, Kort Prosess and Jin’Rik’Sha in the 90’s, JR Ewing and Kaospilot in the 00’s or the tons of other bands we could mention. But you’ve probably never heard of Problems, who released just one album in 2016. And that’s a shame, cause this is one hell of a ride – violent, ferocious and HUGELY slept on. Our dear friend Kjetil released this through his label Lilla Himmel/Lilac Sky. Highly recommended!
Le Corbeau
Our guitarist Mathias used to have a band called Angora Static, who played noisy, emotive hardcore. When they broke up he started in a band called Snöras, while bass player Øystein switched to guitar and joined ranks in one of our favorite Norwegian bands of all time – shoegazers Serena Maneesh! Since then, Øystein has had his own project as well called Le Corbeau, and they create music that is very evocative, a bit gloomy and beautiful. It almost sound like the soundtrack to a David Lynch movie or something – Le Corbeau is true Norwegian noir!
Insominac Bears
Our band actually started after we all met at a gig, listening to Insominac Bears, so we have to write something about them as well. The members are friends of ours and have played in tons of cool acts like Rumble In Rhodos, Magnus Moriarty, Lukestar, Krokofant and Team Me; all quality stuff. They have an open approach to writing songs and are hugely talented, meaning they can pull off just about anything. And btw: Marius Ergo in the band is the guy who produced our debut as well, so there u go! Insomniac Bears just finished recording their next album and it’s truly mind-blowing stuff. So while we’re waiting for that one, here’s an oldie but goldie to soothe your ears and hearts:
Spielbergs
We love this band so much. Over the top, anthemic indie bangers and sweet guys as well. A new album is about to drop later this year, and we’re so stoked about playing live with them later this spring. If you haven’t checked them out already, we don’t know what’s stopping you! Spielbergs ftw!
This Daze
We live in a city called Trondheim, and there’s some good stuff going on around us. The music academy in town has brought tons of quality jazz- and experimental pop projects like Broen, and the local squat UFFA have been a steady provider of crust punk and d-beat acts like Mørkt Kapittel. If there’s one local band that has impressed us the past years it’s the up and coming fuzzpop band This Daze. They’re kinda Strokesy, but bring their own flavour to it. Plus it’s a really good live band. We hope they get the success they aim for and deserve!
Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
Our member Morten has been pounding the drums in post-rock 7-man army Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson for years, touring the USA, UK and Europe. I guess we’re pretty biased on this one, but don’t let that stop you from checking this out. Epic, but humble post-rock with a lean towards emo. Featuring members from Flight Mode too btw, if you need one more reason to give it a spin. Enjoy!
