RELEASED 26.1.2015
Katzenjammer are nothing if not distinctive. Formed at an Oslo music school in 2005, the four girls play a diverse blend of country, folk, blues, pop and rock. From Tennessee's Bonnaroo to Australia's Woodford Folk Festival, the quartet have enraptured tens-of-thousands with their genre-mixing, instrument-swapping and riotous shows. Their 2008 debut, Le Pop, showed that they were as fun on record as live and 2011's A Kiss Before You Go was a symphonic journey through the emotions, full of vigour and vocal harmonies. Throughout this all they have done things their own way. Rockland is undoubtedly their most refined and accomplished effort so far. "We wanted to go back to the roots and be more stripped and not add all these symphonic things," says Anne Marit. The moods ebb and flow throughout; from the bass-heavy and rapped 'Oh My God' to more serene and melody-led tracks like 'My Own Tune' and 'Lady Grey'. Yet this is no bare-bones record. It is still unmistakably Katzenjammer; a more focused version of the adventure and unbounded excitement for which they are known. Each member travelled across the world to write songs for Rockland, including separate visits to Nashville for Anne Marit and Marianne and to London for Solveig. A staggering total of 83 songs was the result, though this was reduced to the eleven which make up Rockland. With these they have managed to distil their essence at its purest. "I think it's kind of even closer to what we want Katzenjammer to be because it's directly from the source of the band," says Solveig.