Nordic Spotlight
The best music and music festivals in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands
Though the Norwegian electronic outfit nylenda gleans its name from the Norse term for “new land,” the trio’s latest release is reminiscent of the three that preceded it in the best ways possible. The band has reappeared from underneath a haze of club fog with “Fires Light,” a triumphant continuation of extremely danceable form that […]
Swedish-British duo Girl Crush knows a thing or two about balance. Its newest single, “Radio Silence,” walks many tightropes. There’s the line between upbeat, vibrant, high-sheen production and EDM’s nails-on-chalkboard digital surges. Between enticing, nasal, gorgeous singing and sneering, giving-it-all-too-much belting. Insightful and cloying lyrical material. Every time, Girl Crush is on the right side […]
A band with the word “bird” in its name has a song with the word “flying” in its title. So consistent it’s kitschy? Thankfully, not quite. Danish duo BlackieBlueBird‘s “Flying Too Close to the Ground” is as delicate as is its titular image, and its fragility is vital to its deeply human profundity. The first […]
In a just world, Swedish quartet KÅRP would be as massively popular as its obvious influences are. Then again, “obvious influences” is an imperfect phrase in regards to KÅRP; although the band’s reverence of Robyn, The Knife, and Lykke Li are about as blatant as signs of decay on an avocado, there is just no one […]
There’s no doubt about it: the ‘80s are back in. You can buy Stranger Things graphic tees at Wal-Mart. Magnum P.I. and Lethal Weapon reboots air weekly on network television. Seemingly every band in sight is dropping its guitars and putting batteries back into its vintage Yamahas. While it might feel like the ‘80s pop […]
The history of disco in the Nordic countries, particularly the Scandinavian ones, is nothing short of rich. With “Kjeiken,” Norwegian producer Even Hymer Gillebo, known more commonly as Cavego, is set to add to that legacy. A glimmering, linear disco tune inspired by the 1970s but embellished with the digital touches of this decade, “Kjeiken,” from […]
It still feels subversive when a pop song built on elements often used to depict faltering or collapsed romances turns out to be about something far more politically charged. “Who did this,” a standout from Norwegian quintet Pre-Echo‘s debut EP Consider This, achieves this trick with simultaneous bombast and elegance. Its delay-drenched guitar strums, melancholic but […]
Most of what we post about here at Nordic Spotlight is music by Nordic artists who sing in English. Not Alibiet. The Bergen-based band’s music is almost entirely sung in Norwegian; to not compromise on singing in one’s native language is pretty damn respectable. It helps that frontperson Maylen Rusti sounds great no matter what […]
You would expect a certain amount of ingenuity from a band named The Entrepreneurs, and on their new single, “Heroine,” the Danish rockers don’t disappoint. The second taste from their upcoming debut album Noise & Romance, this thunderous, six-minute behemoth is equal parts ‘90s pedal-driven guitar rock, sawtoothed post-punk, and crooning indie-rock love song, all […]
Norwegian polymath Thomas Meidell knows a thing or two about collaborating. As Mt. Mélodie, he makes rock music infused with chamber and folk influences, but it’s rarely just him on his songs. When he records his music, “he is joined by a revolving cast of musicians,” to quote the man directly. Outside Mt. Mélodie, he’s been part […]