Label:
Released: 21st January 2022
Rating: ★★★★
Norway’s something of an indie-rock hotbed right now, and following hot on the heels of Spielbergs and last year’s breakouts Flight Mode come Trondheim’s Onsloow. Less frenetic than the former and perkier than the latter, Onsloow instead find the middle ground between indie-rock grit and sweet, sweet power-pop. It’s gorgeous, playful stuff too, recalling Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin if they’d nicked The Anniversary’s instruments. Or, more relevantly, Slotface going ten rounds with Charly Bliss.
This eclecticism is demonstrated perfectly on opening number ‘Sleeping/Daydreaming’, which fizzes and dazzles like an errant Catherine wheel on bonfire night. Meanwhile, the contagious ‘Being With You’ is a near-perfect slice of propulsive indie-pop and a hyperactive highlight.
However, despite these bold numbers, ‘S/T’ is rarely painted with primary colours. Instead, depth and variety help dilute the sugar-rush highs, especially on closing number ‘Webs & Destroyers’, which finds some majesty in its near six-minute run time. Equally impressive is the outstanding ‘Overthinking’, which serves as the beating heartbeat of the album.
At only eight songs long, ‘S/T’ might be svelte and shorn of excess fat, but it’s still bursting with character, bright hooks, and some devilish insidious cuts. While Norway might be untapped and under-appreciated by UK audiences, bands as exciting as Onsloow, Flight Mode, and Killer Kid Mozart will change that perception – and fast.
