“It packs a punch, is a lot of fun and has a few very welcome surprises,” so said Max Gayler earlier this year when reviewing ‘Roaring At The Sun’, the latest release by Norwegian trio Sauropod. Those surprises arrived thick and fast on the record, delivering brash punk, rock and roll and sludge elements all at once. It served as a smorgasbord of all things Scandinavian, a glimpse into the music scene of north Europe. With that in mind, we asked Sauropod to take us on a brief journey through the alternative Scandinavian scene. They enthusiastically obliged.
Lucky Malice – ‘Power to the People’
Say hello to Lucky Malice from Norway. Sick live band! They’ve been around for a while, flying more or less completely under the Norwegian mainstream radar. I’m serious, go see them live!
Slutface – ‘Angst’
Now THAT’s how you make a music video! Ha! These are also from Norway.
Succuba – ‘Krokan’
Check out Succuba! Loud as all of hell screaming, but weirder. One of the bands I have seen live the most, I think. Little Gard (guitar, vocal) has seen this band through a lot of different lineups and phases, I think they’re a trio now, but I had to pick this one cause I think it’s so good!
Masterpiece of Cake – ‘Don’t Wanna’
If this doesn’t make you happy, completely, for three minutes & 13 seconds, then I don’t know what to do.
Philemon Arthur & the Dung – ‘Jag mÃ¥r sÃ¥ illa’
This is possibly Scandinavia’s strangest, and funniest group. A duo STILL only known by their pseudonyms Philemon Arthur & the Dung, from a small town in Scania, Sweden. They recorded all of their stuff at home with guitars, accordions and saucepans etc for percussion. Juggling between surrealism and satire, these guys won a Swedish grammy in ’71 for best Swedish LP. Always sounding pretty much like this, which upset a lot of boring people. ‘Jag mÃ¥r sÃ¥ illa’, meaning “I feel so bad” is a head-aching morning-after-song.
Ebba Grön – ‘Staten og kapitalet’
Would be silly not to bring this Swedish song to the table if we’re talking about Scandinavian punk. Originally written by a sort of prog band in the seventies called BlÃ¥ TÃ¥get, this version is played by Ebba Grön. Classic sing-along.
Cloroform – ‘The Entertainment Industry’
Not really punk, but Cloroform is a weirdly pleasing trio from Norway. Whack synth hooks, stand up bass and crazy drums!
Grand Island – ‘Us Annexed’
Also Norwegian, also not punk. But these guys don’t seem especially worried about genres. Hard rock drums, bluegrass-banjo, organ/disco synth and indie-guitar isn’t exactly orthodox. This song is from their first album ‘Say No To Sin’ (2006), the first album I owned! 🙂 Very fun record.
Johndoe w/ Hopalong Knut – ‘Sitter pÃ¥ en bombe’
Originally written by Joachim Nielsen (1964-2000), a very exciting and colorful songwriter, and one of Norwegian rock’s most influential voices. This is from a tribute record (different bands for each track). I have to hold on to my head so it doesn’t fly away. Brass! And Norwegian lyrics, but you can Google Translate, can’t you? It’s not like that Google’s gonna TRANSLATE ITSELF.
Aiming for Enrike – ‘Mechajackson’
Oslo-based Aiming for Enrike, another refreshingly genre-less band. Not easy listening, it’s loud and eclectic, but this one has a hook to it too! Still haven’t had a chance to see them live yet, but we all just fell for this song in particular.
Sauropod’s ‘Roaring At The Storm’ is available now. Stream the record in full below.