“‘Where the lost wander’ is an album you can tell has had so much love and artistic passion put into it, and as a result of this it became an admirable debut.”
Norwegian rock band Kunstgress have released five singles this year, and this week they unveiled ‘Where the lost wander’, their debut album. The group cover a range of themes as well as a range of sounds on the album, and this project is a hugely impressive start to their music career.
The ‘Intro’ of ‘Where the lost wander’ presents us with the heavy, unapologetically rock sound the group display on the album. The anticipation of it is crafted well, making us feel like the 11 songs ahead of us are apart of a show, and the ‘Intro’ prepares us for what’s to come as the curtains open. A smooth transition occurs from ‘Intro’ to ‘Freedom’. We hear the vocals take centre stage for the first time as they put forward their projective sound and formidable range. Alongside this is the electrifying instrumental, redolent of British rock band Idles, launching a broad array of guitar and drum sounds especially to enhance the infectious intensity of the melody. It’s clear why ‘Freedom’ was chosen as the first single.
‘King Cab’ was the latest single from Kunstgress, and the next track on the album. It’s a little less intense than the mellifluous storm of ‘Freedom’, but just as catchy. Lyrically the song tells a compelling tale, opening with the lyric ‘Let me tell you all about this old man, that I met sometime, somewhere‘. Different vocals feature this time, and there’s a hypnotic tone to the vocal, especially paired with the brilliant production on the instrumental. There’s a fine line between commercial and authentic here, and I can see both these components helping ‘King Cab’ to perform splendidly as a single.
‘Showdown pt.1’ has this cool, sleek element to it. I think it shows just how versatile Kunstgress are, experimenting with their genre to provide something new and exciting with each track. The melody drifts through periods of lighter instrumental and focus on the deep, rich vocal, as well as periods of heavy instrumental with a differing vocal tone. ‘Showdown pt.2’ has a similar atmosphere, presenting an instrumental filled with varying sounds, yet executed so smoothly. Each track has a different vocal lead, different lyrics, and different structure, but they both amazingly represent this concept of a ‘showdown’.
Kunstgress spoke on the album: “Where the Lost Wander” is our debut project, a labor of love that’s been two years in the making. With no formal music education, studio, or expensive equipment, this album was born from recording sessions in cabins, caravans, bedrooms, and frankly anywhere we could fit a laptop and a microphone. It’s self written and self produced and therefore a merge between the music taste of all six band members.”
“The album revolves around the complexities of modern urban life, exploring the emotions it inevitably leads to: euphoria, insecurity, heartbreak, envy, anxiety, and those days where you just need to put on a cowboy movie (or two) and escape.”
We hear both of the lead vocals we’ve heard so far meet on ‘Breakup song’. The production is just as sophisticated as that of the previous tracks, yet we hear a new kind of atmosphere. Melancholic undertones are evident, confirmed in the ruminative lyricism; ‘Always the same, nothing changes around here, I will be fine when you’re gone.’ Perhaps some elements of anger too, implied by the powerful instrumental interlude following the line ‘I’m gonna hate you even more for this, for giving up so easily.’ The next song ‘Crows’ has this rollercoaster of an instrumental. The vocals have this unstoppable hold on the melody, however, and together these elements work to produce something really cool and original that fans just won’t be able to get enough of.
‘Pretend’ brings ‘Where the lost wander’ to a close. It opens with this soothing instrumental, and the vocals match this energy perfectly as they set in. As it shifts into an atmosphere so vibrant and optimistic, you just know it’s one of those song that would be even more thrilling performed on stage, as you sing along blissfully.
You can listen to Where the lost wander here: