Norwegians Lydia Laska – the self-styled ‘True Norwegian black ‘n’ roll pop orchestra’ – are a rum bunch, and no mistake…
Impossible to really categorize – that self-written moniker I mentioned above is probably as close as we’ll get – the band are tremendously influential in their homeland, even if the LL name isn’t quite so well known elsewhere. Indeed you could mount a serious argument in favour of the statement that ‘there’s be no Kvelertak without Lydia Laska’, especially after exposure to the superb space rock of Brainmelt. These are the esoteric circles within which Lydia Laska work.
Despite professing a love for names like Ved Buens Ende, the band never goes fully for the throat musically on Ego Death… rather they keep the extremity on the perimeter, opting for the most times for an overdriven mid-nineties indie sound on tracks like I Can Play Myself, Teslicity Baby! and You. That said a feeling of vague menace is invested in much of the material on show. Aural atrocity always feels like it might only ever be a verse and a chorus away, a feeling which keeps the listener on his or her toes throughout. And that must be a good thing, no?
The band opt for a bit of Hawkwind-meets-the Pixies-inspired mayhem on the superbly named Gout Lord, but for the most part it’s deliciously impossible to pin the band down in terms of stylistics. Impressions are created, other names flit across the subconscious whilst you listen but disappear before you’ve had time to fully register what’s going on. I listened to this album a few times without artificial aids and it left my head spinning. The maker alone knows what it’ll sound like if you’ve had a little too much of mother’s little helper before having a listen…
This is Lydia Laska’s third full-length album, but easily their most accessible in a weird, skewed kinda way. If you like any challenging music at all – from old Pink Floyd all the way through to Burzum, and back again, there’ll be something on this album that calls to you. Give it a go, I dare you…
Ego Death is out on October 5th through Edged Circle Productions.
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