Appearances Can Be Deceptive - There's Much More to Sauropod Than Punk!

Sauropod is an upcoming Oslo based three-piece whose sound gives more than a passing nod to the US West Coast punk scene. Whilst the sources of their inspiration are manifold, it is the ‘grunge-tastic’ Seattle scene that would appear to be the most influential, with big-hitters like Nirvana and Green River leading the inspirational fray.

The past year has seen Sauropod gain traction in the Norwegian music scene, build a solid cohort of fans, kick ass at Øya (the Norwegian Glasto) and charm the Riot Factory boys into signing them onto their label. On top of all that, they wrote and recorded their 11-track debut album, now minted and freshly released via Bandcamp. Produced by Hasse Rosbach and recorded at Albatross Studio, Oslo, ‘Roaring at the Storm’ is in Sauropod’s own words - “noisy melodic, frantic & euphoric”.

Ten bars into the opening track, ‘You and Me Should Leave Together’, and for some bizarre reason (probably because I think it has the touch of Alan Moulder about it), I can hear the Killers jamming with a pissed up Green Day. A raucous, turbulent affair, more “ten to two” proposition than love song, this track is an Americanised neo-punky garage blast of fast furious noise that gets the album off to a pretty turbo charged start. Phew! Draws breath.

Which is just as well cos next up is ‘screamadelic’ ‘Winter Song’, the vocal of which should be the envy of erstwhile shout-ster, Johnny Rotten. It’s a bit Lordi meets the Sex Pistols but with more melody and less fancy dress. Dr Who guitar riffs, seriously mean Dave Grohl drumming and some fantastically wicked guitar playing make this one addictive track. Don’t be deceived by the rawk, Jonas Røyeng has a very good singing voice. Truth be told, his natural vocal has a very warm, inviting timbre!

Next up is a track I’ve already reviewed – ‘Sunny Day’. It’s a primal rock duet, with catchy hooks, synergetic his-n-hers vocals, clear classic guitar riffs (oh they are beautiful), sticky rich bluesy basslines and ass kickin’ percussion.

There’s a definite trend forming here, isn’t there?
‘Roaring at the Storm’ does follow a trend but doesn’t stick to a fixed formula. Sauropod appears to have a clear vision of how they want each track to sound: what they don’t seem to want is continuous replication.

They have a bent towards a space filling, noise making style of rock, but it’s blended with blues, punk, jazz, garage, grunge, rock n roll and indeed, pop. Theirs is a fluid style that whilst it has a definitive trademark vibe, doesn’t pigeon-hole them into one or other box (I have a thing about music classification).

A case in point is ‘Running Song’, a track that takes them way off the grunge course, into the realms of acoustica. It’s a bit 60s pop covered by Nirvana, comprising quirky lyrics, appealing melody, nice-n-easy guitar sounds and Mary Hopkin harmonies - Kamillia Waal Larsen gives a pitch perfect vocal accompaniment. Throughout the track, Røyeng’s melodic vocal has just a slight “bite” to it, but as the song evolves he starts vibing his inner Cobain, unleashing some seriously RAWK vocals intermittently through the outro.

So far, three singles have been released from ‘Roaring at the Storm’ – ‘Winter Song’, the lead and ‘Sunny Day’ the third and most recent. Sandwiched between the two was, ‘Headphones’. Short and sweet, this is a furious punk belter that would have been perfectly at home on an X-Ray Spex setlist back in the day. Kamillia’s infectious Poly Styrene-esque vocal, raw, defiant and ever so petulant, is gloriously offset by an amalgam of thunderous bass playing, feverish guitar sequences and thrashing percussion, all of which combined, create the “perfect storm”.

The album closes out on track-11, ‘On the Hill’, a lovely, hushed, understated little number replete with dream inducing sounds including the twinkliest of all instruments, the marimba. The vibe is very 60s folk, a complete counter to album opener, ‘You and Me Should Leave Together’. It’s a welcome musical wind-down and rather soothing way to round off proceedings.

So there you have it, ‘Roaring at the Storm, an album of polar opposites, brimful of counterpoints and diversions. On the one hand it vibes rawk, punk, ‘frenergy’ and ‘noize’; on the other, classic rock, tranquil folk and dreamy acoustic pop. Appearances can be deceptive, so can labels. When seeking out new music, always work on that caveat. Just because the media define a band, doesn’t confine them to that sound or genre. There is more, much more to Sauropod than meets the superficial eye. You have my word …

A compelling debut from a vibrant young band, ‘Roaring at the Storm’ clearly shows that Sauropod don’t just have plenty of raw talent, they also have the savvy and foresight to both experiment with, and diversify from, the sounds that have inspired them. In so doing, they have given themselves the freedom and space to create an album that is wide-ranging, engaging, fresh and very, very alive.

You can buy ‘Roaring at the Storm’ via https://riotfactory.bandcamp.com/

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