Birds sometimes dance

Kråkesølv is the band I’ve been waiting for for a long time now. They are the fresh breath I needed. Their complex songs are sort of a mix of post-rock, 90’s emo (bands like Mineral, The Van Pelts and Cap’n'Jazz, not the newer kind) and contemporary bands like Death Cab For Cutie. Add in some vocals in a Norwegian dialect and you have something really magical.

Kråkesølv are from Bodø, north in Norway, with background from the hardcore music culture that exists there. They did some great by:Larm concerts this year and got endorsed by both Simen Herning (My Little Pony) and Øystein Greni (Big Bang,) who’s going to produce the band’s next album. Trådnøsting is their debut album and will be released 9. november on their own label and distributed by Diger.

They play music with international qualities, but they still have big ties to bodø. In their own words, they play “rambling pop with a little taste of post-rock and a dose of scrawny rock.” The songs are quite complex in their build-up, with melancholic harmonies and alternative rhythm patterns. There are even trumpets, accordian, cellos and violins, but it doesn’t get kitchy or pompous, it fits in really well. It’s a natural part of instrumentation and the song. The melodies really get you. The more you listen to it, the better the melodies get. Catchy, without getting annoying.

You can’t really get away from that the most interesting (and brave!) thing about Kråkesølv is that they sing in Norwegian. And not just Norwegian, but the Bodø dialect, A peculiar dialect from far up north. The only bad thing about them singing in norwegian is that people from other countries won’t know how great lyrics they have. With that said, it wouldn’t be the same in english anyway. I guess there’s sort of a beauty in the fact that you don’t know what they’re singing. The lyrics are poems about the small things in life that maybe aren’t so small as they seem at first. A trip around Vågøyvannet is more than just a trip around Vågøyvannet.

I think all the songs are great, but if I should say something about a particular song, I really enjoy “kalde føtter,” with a fantastic refrain, frenetic, crazy drums, and a fantastic ending with pizzicato strings before a noisy end that reminds me of The Apleseed Cast. The single “Privat Regn” is also very enjoyable. It has great lyrics, the melodies are quite catchy and it’s overall just a great song. Another track I really liked was “Vågøyvannet Rundt,” it contains the coolest drums I’ve heard in a while. The snare drums lie in the background, like raindrops, while layer on layer of guitar harmonies blend with sad singing. It also has strings (cello and violin) that are a perfect counterpoint to the singing, and the strings lie far enough in the back, so that there’s never too much.

For me, Kråkesølv has been the big new band this year, and I find it really enjoyable that someone actually dares to sing in Norwegian and manages to pull it off. I’ve listened to the album seven times now and I still can’t find on thing I really miss on it. It’s a really good debut, and I can with a proud heart say that Kråkesølv is probably the best thing I’ve heard this year.

- Ole Torstein Hovig, 30/10/2009