Årabrot

Start a phrase with “True Norwegian…” in the middle of a room full of music fans, and you’ll know how nearly 100% of them will finish it. And don’t get us wrong, we also love the good old black metal done up there as only the Norwegians can, but wait just a second – what if someone in the room actually defies the norm and yells out “…Art Rock!”? Well, then that someone might just be an Årabrot fan, and that’s something that should be treasured. 

The Norwegian rock pioneers have been going since 2001 already, always led by the unmistakable vocal talents of Kjetil Nernes – a chameleonic singer which you nevertheless won’t ever forget after listening to him just once – and to this day they remain as elusive and as impossible to pin down as ever. Each record is a challenge to the listener, each release a new step into their abrasive mix of noise rock, post punk, doom and the devil knows what else. See why “art rock” starts to make a lot of sense as an umbrella term? 

Having covered both Lee Hazlewood and Death In June in the past (both of them considered decisive inspirations alongside bands like Melvins or Swans), received a Grammy for best metal album of 2012, made music for silent movies and played art galleries, being equally informed by classic literature, philosophy, mystic thinkers and smut in the themes they cover, Årabrot are a constant brain-twisting puzzle.
The kind of puzzle that Roadburn is eager to help put together, especially when there’s an extra piece dropping soon: new album Who Do You Love has been recorded by Greg Norman, partly in Steve Albini‘s Electrical Audio studio and partly in an old church in the woods of Dalarna, in Sweden. We’re anxious to see how this piece fits (or doesn’t?) with all the other pieces we’ve been racking our brains with for years now. 

Årabrot will not be making things easy for anyone on Thursday, 19 April at Het Patronaat at Roadburn, and it’s already starting to feel like one of those classic mindblowers to be discussed for years on end. Don’t miss it!