You must know by now how much I not only love niche musical scenes but also how much I love Nordic, and specifically Norwegian, progressive and post-rock. Wobbler, The Samuel Jackson Five, and 1099 are great examples, to name just a few. Gladly, we can now add Trojka to the list! Hailing from Bergen, these guys play a self-described style of "pop prog" and, honestly, I can see the moniker work. I was unfamiliar with them until I got an email about their upcoming, third album, Strobemørke, but ever since then, I have been obsessed. Bluesy guitars, rich synths, and extremely clever and pleasing compositions, make this album a truly delight. Which is why I am very happy to premiere "En smak av evighet" from it right below!
"En smak av evighet", the track, showcases really well everything that makes Strobemørke, the album, so good. I love how the track starts off low and slow, really channeling those blues energies while slowly gathering all of the elements of its sound together. It continues to burn slowly until its middle passages, whereupon the music emerges from the other side much uplifted, with synths and much more prominent guitars buoying the sound towards its eventual climax. However, even in the midst of catharsis, Trojka are always careful to keep things musically cohesive, using notes, sounds, tones, and ideas from the first segments of the track to embellish and bring to life the track's crescendo.
There is a lot more on the album to enjoy - the track which closes the album, "Satans Disko", is a twelve minutes long journey that reminded me of The Flower Kings their peak. There's more groove on earlier tracks like "Romvesen" and dreamer (and sometimes darker) atmospheres and tones on "Hjerteteppe". All of these elements come together to make Strobemørke a wonderful release, couched in the tradition of Nordic and Norwegian progressive rock but very much possessed with its own personality and vibe.
Strobemørke releases on the 16th of August via the magnificent Apollon Records. Head on over to the Bandcamp page above to pre-order it!
P.S - can we talk about how much that cover art rules? It's so good!