I Was A King - Old Friends

Alles wie gehabt bei den Norwegern um Frontmann Frode Strømstad: Auch auf ihrem dritten Album "Old Friends" huldigen sie in einer knappen halben Stunde einem Mix aus 60s Pop und 90s Indierock. Das klingt dann nach Teenage Fanclub ("Nightwalking"), Olivia Tremor Control ("Here To Stay") und Apples In Stereo ("Learning To Fly"). Hätte Alan McGee Creation Records nicht aufgegeben, so wären I Was A King vielleicht bei ihm unter Vertrag.

In Ermangelung eines aktuellen Videos hier ein TV-Auftritt mit "Norman Bleik":

While their previous albums easily can, and were, accused of being a 90s revival, main man Frode Strømstad explained to Lydverket that “fuzz guitars are nearly absent [on Good Friends], which is making it sound more organic now. Very liberating!”. This, he says, is partly due to the change in musicians — in addition to himself and Anne Lise Frøkedal, American jazz musicians Kevin Shea, Josh Stamper and John Ringhofer are the main contributors to the album. He also reveals a short visit from Emil Nikolaisen. So there we go, some fuzz is mandatory.

The album was recorded in New Jersey’s Familyre Recording Studio and back home in Oslo in Fugleben Studio, in April and May this year, so it’s pretty much fresh from the factory when they give us the new song “Daybreak”. Whether relieving themselves from fuzz made it less 90s… well, maybe not drastically. Still a nice track for foolish, flannelled summer nights — just listen to Frøkedal’s vocals reverberating off Strømstad’s melody line, and enjoy a fresh breath of piano and brass:
(nomusicmedia.com)

I Was a King - Daybreak by Hype City Recordings