14 inches of Norway

Salvation Circus
Norwegian Monkey b/w Horses + Inside
Swithch Off Records/Tuba!
 

A new name from out of the underground. Salvation Circus; a trio of Andreas Pedersen (who's written all songs) on vocals and guitar, Christoffer Pedersen (the elder brother) on bass, and Kai Gjessing on drums, started some 3-4 years ago. Here's their debut record: 7 inches of Monkeys Norvegicus!

Main track Norwegian Monkey starts off with galloping rhythms, and unveils a talented songwriter with the younger Pedersen. Quite catchy, but the song is maybe a bit too long. The music isn't easy to bag. A bit of 60's, 70's and 90's feel (well, they claim Beatles, Bowie and Nirvana to be among their sources of inspiration). When flipping the single over Horses burst out. An angry and energetic garage rock'n'roll blow-out. 80's Aussie band Celibate Rifles comes to mind, or Foo Fighters maybe. Anyway it's too much steam and not enough soul for me. Last track, Inside, is a ballad of the more smooth type, which means 3 songs of quite different nature. Which leaves me wondering what sort of band Salvation Circus are, releasing such a schizophrenic single. Monkey business? When will the musical about the human mind be premiered?

Distribution in Norway: Tuba!

Dipsomaniacs
Bellows Make You Burn More Brightly
Camera Obscura
 

The highly acclaimed pop served by Mr. Holm and his mates gain more and more ground outside Norway. This time it's the Australian label Camera Obscura which gets the chance to present 3 new, previously unreleased aces out of Øyvind Holm's sleeve.

Dipsomaniacs keep on exploring and refining their psychedelic 60's pop, creating marvelous little melodies spinning in great instrumental surroundings. Side 1 holds the "title track" Burn Brightly, which is a perfect pop gem. Punchy, bouncy, catchy. The two songs on the flip side, And She's Gone and Electrocute Your Friends, are more in the calmer corner of their world. I think I prefer the latter. But then again And She's Gone keeps growing, with its circular merry-go-roundish sound. No big deal; get the single and you'll have them all three. Get everything else as well. Dipsomaniacs (check our archive to find out more) deserve to sell more records and more people should've gotten the chance to hear them.

Contact Camera Obscura, but be quick because there's only a few left, I guess, of a limited edition of 400. Otherwise you'd better beg for a second edition.

Copyright © 2000 Håvard Oppøyen