SLOMOSA

SLOMOSA

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Expansive mountains constitute nearly two-thirds of Norway. This breathtaking grandeur gives the country a sense of natural splendor and mystique as if its topography has held secrets for millennia.

Hailing from the city of Bergen, Norway, Slomosa channel the sprawl of their surroundings through a sweeping signature hybrid of revved-up stoner rock riffage, grungy hooks, and a concentrated punk wallop. As if holding up a sonic mirror image to the landscape, an avalanche of distortion tumbles into valleys of massive melody, teeming with tectonic force. Now, the group—Ben Berdous [vocals, guitar], Marie Moe [vocals, bass], Tor Erik Bye [guitar], and Jard Hole [drums]—perfect this inimitable sound on their aptly titled second full-length offering and MNRK Heavy debut LP, Tundra Rock.

“‘Tundra Rock’ is ‘Desert Rock’ in our terms,” Ben observes. “A desert doesn’t have to be warm. If you think about it, the biggest desert in the world is Antarctica. In this respect, the tundra is our desert.  We thought it would be cool to coin a genre, and it’s stuck to us. You could certainly say the grandiosity of nature is evident in the songs.”

Nearly ten years ago, Ben planted the seeds for Slomosa as a “casual excuse to drink beer, smoke, and play rock music with friends.” Without pressure or expectations, songs naturally took shape under the influence of everyone from Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Sleep to Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden. The band’s 2020 eponymous debut, SLOMOSA, has piled up over 10 million streams fueled by “Kevin,” “In My Mind’s Desert,” “There Is Nothing New Under The Sun,” and “Horses.” Inciting critical applause, Invisible Oranges raved, “Slomosa are no strangers to evoking the best of early stoner rock without resorting to lazy imitation — see their self-titled debut for evidence of that.” Meanwhile, they played to packed crowds all over Europe and the UK, scorched the stages of Alcatraz Open Air and Hellfest, and received invites to tour with the likes of Alkaline Trio.

2024 saw them hit the studio with producer Erik Marinius to record Tundra Rock. In essence, Slomosa picked up where they left off, while leaping forward at the same time.

“I wanted it to be a natural continuation of what we did on the first record,” Ben reveals. “In many ways, my life had changed. Suddenly, I went from a regular work life to being a touring musician. My hobby became my job. We didn’t ‘plan’ for the first album to become anything. I’d gone through a lot since then. Tundra Rock is darker and a little more melodic. It represents the emotional side of the band.”

The quartet initially bulldozed the way for this chapter with “Cabin Fever” and “Rice.” Meanwhile, the single “Battling Guns” illustrates their evolution. Purring distortion and Ben’s airy vocals drive the track towards a question, “What would you do?”

“I initially wrote it about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict when I was younger,” he states. “My roots are from Algeria. However, I grew up in a partially Palestinian home, and my siblings are half-Palestinian. I was aware of the conflict, and I was quite political as a kid. It’s about the general occupation and soldiering that has happened over the years. You can view it as throwing rocks versus battling guns. The lyrics can speak to conflicts around the world though. In the simplest sense, it’s an anti-war, anti-fascist track.”

“MJ” tempers a hulking groove with a spacey lead, showcasing another side of the band’s sound. “We definitely embraced grunge more this time,” he notes. “You can hear it on ‘MJ’.” Then, there’s “Monoman.” Between the loose bass line and barnstorming riff, Ben’s lyrics confront  “frustration with life.” The trip through SLOMOSA’s tundra concludes with the tribal bounce of “Dune.”

“The vision was for it to move like techno does,” Ben goes on. “It’s one of my favorite songs, because it is so different.”

In the end, Slomosa welcome everyone into their world on Tundra Rock.

=“If you listen to this, I just hope you feel something,” he leaves off. “This is my life project. It means a lot to me. It’s given me a chance I never thought I’d have. I’m fortunate to be here. I want you to take away that Tundra Rock is here to stay.”