Birds sometimes dance

Spoon Train Audio are here with another Oslo compilation, showing yet again how much great music the capital’s independent pop scene has to offer. There’s been a lot of talk about Bergen being the musical capitol of Norway, but for every time I play through Oslo 2, it gets clearer and clearer that Oslo really is the capitol of Norway, musically too.

I remember a Facebook group named something like “Since when did Indie Rock refer to pussies afraid of amps?” Here’s a band that should crush such beliefs. Oliver Ackerman and his band aren’t exactly afraid of amps. Just like their first album, this one is full of noise, distortion and fuzz on every level. Even the drums are distorted.

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.

Mumford & Sons is a quartet from london playing their own blend of gospel, bluegrass, british folk music and the modern folk rock. It’s anthemic, with a lot of sound, filled with big drums, acoustic guitar and dramatic volume changes. It often goes from complete silence to an explosion of sound, with banjo, brass, drums and vocal harmonies almost big as a choir. Marcus Mumford’s singing is both warm, calm, soaring and screaming.

What started up as the solo project of Nils Martin Larsen has eventually evolved into a six-piece band, and as the debut album Guidebook To Lamaland was an introduction, this is the further path. As the first album was more experimental and electronic, this second album is more Post-rock.

Sometimes you read about a hyped band, and you’re instantly sceptical. You think they aren’t really that good at all. Then, when you’ve taken some time to actually listen to them, you realize you were all wrong to judge them, and that’s the story with  me and The Megaphonic Thrift.

I’ve just had, or actually I’m still having this amazing feeling. It’s the feeling I get when I know I’ve just discovered music that will stay with me the rest of my life. I was listening to Björn Kleinhenz’s new single “Black Water” (free download here) and the first time I heard it, I instantly got goosebumps all over. That’s no bad sign.

Headlights is an indie rock band located in Campaign, Illinois. They formed in 2004 after the break up of a band named Absinthe Blind. Wildlife is the band’s third record and was released on Polyvinyl records, home to critic favourites like Asobi Seksu, Architecture in Helsinki and Of Montreal. Is this album their best release yet or just a shadow of their debut album Kill Them With Kindness?

Casa Murilo is a pretty fresh band fronted by Englishmen Chris Winfield and Dan Hesketh. They play extremely catchy indie rock and sing about things they experienced and people they met when the two lived in Brazil. Of some reason they went to Norway to form a band. Should we wonder why such talented people ended up in Norway of all places or just embrace the fact that they’re here?