The opening segment of the press release that accompanied Finnish rockers Slap Betty’s new album ‘Nothing Out of Nothing’ caused a great deal of mirth at Famous Last Words (FLW). The source of such merriment was, ‘The band that often cuts electricity returns with their second album’ which has affected other artists such as Backyard Babies, not to mention a few festival appearances as well! With a sound that’s too hot to handle therefore, Slap Betty deliver an honest set of rock tunes mixed with fragments of punk and even older rock and roll. Such examples of this can be found right at the doorstep of this new release with the socio-political commentary of ‘World We Leave Behind’ that is equally tough and gritty in sound, and complete with a persuasive vocal which gives the impression of having been left to soak overnight in bourbon. With the band being made up of Teemu (vocal/guitar), Juuso (drums), Juhana (guitar) and Antti (bass), Slap Betty continue to deliver rhythmically tight numbers with ‘List Of The Things I Hate’ and ‘Fill My Cup’. It’s not all foot to the floor stompers, however, as Slap Betty tone things down a bit with the melodic tones of ‘Perfect’, and reflective stance of closing track ‘Shame’. Whilst their activities outside of the recording studio might be prone to accidents, there is nothing calamitous about ‘Nothing Out Of Nothing’ as Slap Betty pull out all the stops to ensure that album number two is a roaring success.

Interesting one this. Knowing next to nothing about Norwegian band Label and their previous single ‘Oslo So Slow’ which, apparently, was a summer smash on these shores, the band return with a new offering by the name, ‘Oh Lisa’. Expecting a strong alt. country twang to reverberate from the speakers considering the record label involved, Label’s sound is far from any such associations with said genre. In fact, ‘Oh Lisa’ is built of earlier Californian pop and rock, with a definite breezy feel attached to it that also suggests a more up-to-date indie(ish) vibe that veers towards the likes of The Magic Numbers for example. With the single recorded at Crystal Canyon Studios in Oslo and produced by Anders Møller, who also serves as the drummer for this single, ‘Oh Lisa’ is the kind of intelligent pop music that should be infiltrating the nation’s airwaves on a more regular basis as it has all the right ingredients with its melodic hooks and smart lyrics. It looks like Label has another hit single on their hands with ‘Oh Lisa’.

Pil & Bue (Bow & Arrow) consists of Petter Carlsen (vocals/guitar) and Aleksander Kostopoulos (drums/percussion). The duo made a name for themselves after their debut album release, ‘Push Start Button (Level 1)’ (2014) picked up widespread acclaim in their home country of Norway. Back with a new album in 2016, Pil & Bue aim to continue where they left off with latest release ‘Forget The Past, Let’s Worry About The Future’. Consisting of six tracks, the songs are fairly lengthy and knit together influences ranging from indie rock, prog and shoegaze, and veer towards artists such as Sigur Ros, Mars Volta and Radiohead in terms of the experimentation supplied. Recorded at Oslo Klang, and with production credits going to Rudi Nikolaisen, Pil & Bue set out their intentions from the start in an onslaught of crunching guitars and a pounding drumbeat that is almost military in sound. From this  point onwards, the songs often remain gritty in nature with ‘Shakkakakka’ sounding grungy and distorted and one of the candidates purporting to Pil & Bue’s recurring lyrical theme concerning women facing suppression, and the agonies and injustices this brings each and every day. ‘Fire’ is the first lengthy sonic exploration with Carlsen’s guitar searching and probing throughout, and accompanied by a hollow rattle of percussion via Kostopoulos that picks up at various intervals depending on the highs and lows expressed during the song. ‘Nevermind’ is more concise yet equally compelling as it retains a tight rhythm, before tackling the epic in scope and brooding ‘Afterlife’. ‘Forget The Past, Let’s Worry About The Future’ is a credit to its two creators, and a reminder that the independent (indie) music scene is still worth investigating, because there’s enough creativity explored in the six tracks given, that it would take others two albums or more to reach such levels. Welcome back Pil & Bue!

With the demise of Bastions, Goodtime Boys and Grappler, members from each of these bands decided to congregate and discuss the potential for a new line-up to address their concerns ranging from personal issues, cultural blandness, and the general sense of apathy among the present generation. A decision was therefore made to form a new band under the name Terrible Love, in order to tackle some of these worries but, more importantly, keep the creative flame burning. The first release from this new outfit is the EP ‘Change Nothing’; five tracks that fly out of the traps in a mixture of coiled anxiety and bristling energy such as the frantic ‘Mt. Misery’ where the drums certainly take centre stage, to the EP’s title song that is to be exalted for its honesty with, “Expectations in myself that were never in reach” and the realisation that there are certain battles in life that you really can’t win. With plans for live dates and a possible 12″ record later in the year, Terrible Love is certainly not going to admit defeat in the wake of this EP finally coming to fruition, and the sense that these five tracks really could change a few opinions if given the chance.

Under the impression that this was a new artist until further research revealed that the former Trondheim resident, Anne Lene Hägglund, has been here before with two previously recorded outputs; namely ‘Bird Cherry Grove’ and ‘Onboard’. With this in mind, the single ‘Black’ provides the second impression of the forthcoming album ‘Coming Up Tails’, after the first single, ‘Tell Me (How It’s Like To Be Insane)’ being released last year. With one or two pointers held by the song title to the nature of the subject matter on offer here, with an overall suggestion being made of a fresh start during the song itself, Anne Lene Hägglund begins in a wispy vocal that is reminiscent of Norwegian artist Maria Solheim, before taking ‘Black’ on a musical journey largely fuelled by electronic synths that raise this song to near epic proportions towards its end. It’s a stirring three minutes of dark, reflective indie pop, and one that raises the curiosity levels for that imminent third album release.

The description ‘haunting beauty’ is quite possibly a much overused expression, but when it comes to Kari Harneshaug’s latest single, ‘Wild One’, it’s one that has surely been reserved for this Norwegian songstress. One listen of this second single from the upcoming album, ‘We Were Closer To End’, is enough to arrest one’s senses into submission, such are the alluring qualities of Harneshaug’s voice set to an atmospheric backdrop where guitar(s) shimmer and keys are lightly applied. With song lyrics cutting deep yet remaining smart enough to not give the game away, it’s left to a momentary lapse in the instrumentation, by way of a stray guitar and a squall of feedback that nearly lifts the lid on the tension at the heart of this song, and therefore exposing itself for everyone to see. If the rest of the contents of the forthcoming long player match the arresting qualities shown here, then Kari Harneshaug is in for a very good year indeed.