Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
The Scandinavian countries are renowned for having some of the world's most far-out artists. Let's add Trond Gjellum and his "Suburban Savages" to the list now. It's really hard to describe this album adequately. It's... well... so far-out, you know... Take a listen yourself!
Favorite track: Guzarondan.
Out of the savaged suburbs of Oslo comes the brainchild of Trond Gjellum – drummer from the legendary Norwegian prog rock band Panzerpappa. Suburban Savages consists of members from Panzerpappa, Ghost Karaoke, White Willow, Weserbergland, Fraction Distraction and Now've Got Members – bands that have distinguished themselves as playful ensembles with a willingness to expand the boundaries of pop and rock. The result is unique: The catchy simplicity of pop music is mixed with the mind-blowing complexity of progressive rock.
The music writer Richard Toftesund (of former Tarkus Magazine) described the music as follows: “A sort of mishmash between Brian Eno’s experimental pop music, Gentle Giant's counterpoint exercises, Happy the Man and Kit Watkins' joyful progressive rock, Lars Hollmer's sentimental melodies, Steve Reich's minimalism and post rock with a twist”. In a genre transcending blend, hummable pop tunes merge with prog rock complexity, punk energy, folk music immediacy and post rock aesthetics – even within the same song! Suburban Savages manages to sound witty, catchy and experimental at the same time.
With a direct and to-the-point delivery of power, emotion and groove, Suburban Savages’ music is always entertaining, often hummable, sometimes danceable and even reluctantly laughable. Though experimental and eclectic, the music always manages to be pleasant. Extensive use of melodic percussion and flute besides classic rock instruments as drums, guitars and bass guitar, contribute to produce a fresh and captivating sound.
credits
released June 9, 2017
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐣𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦
drums, percussion, lead & backing vocals, programming, keyboards
A sort of mishmash between Brian Eno’s experimental pop music, Gentle Giant's counterpoint exercises, Happy the Man and Kit Watkins' joyful progressive rock, Lars Hollmer's sentimental melodies, Steve Reich's minimalism and post rock with a twist
In 2019, I was in Salisbury and attended the Alphabet Business Convention without knowing any artist. Lost Crowns was my favourite band that played there. Pablo P.
Thanks to the nice-endof-year-offer I came to fill this gap in my private worm collection (a, pardon me, worm hole, so to speak :-))
Wonderful reminiscence to many good things past (Canterbury, 70s prog, folk rock) with a good sense of humour and great ideas (both in the songwriting & in the arrangements) . Carsten Pieper
This might be the least folky of the Wobbler releases and I wasn't sure about it at all.
After a few listens however I'm loving the inventiveness and the endless melodies, all driven along by Kristian Hultgren's wonderful percussive bass. PartTimeZombie
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
The new live EP by Ryan W. Stevenson's project reminded me, that this debut album must have been gone down the wishlist... If instrumental Canterbury stuff is your thing, this should be a no-brainer. Firmly rooted in the past (late 60s, 70s), nevertheless with a fresh sound. Guests incude The Tangent's Andy Tillison and Soft Machine's Theo Travis. Carsten Pieper