Le Pop

by Katzenjammer

Overview

This all-female Norwegian quartet makes wild, pulse-pounding music that's hard to categorize. Imagine some mutant blend of the B-52's, Gogol Bordello, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France playing supersonic dance beats on acoustic instruments and you have some idea of this band's eclectic sound. Their mash-up of Gypsy madness and Balkan wedding music, rock and pop, American and Norwegian folk, and much more is played brightly, but with an underlying darkness that gives the impression of a carnival band surfing on the snowy crest of an avalanche. The quartet plays about a dozen instruments including accordion, guitar, piano, and drums in addition to balalaika and harpeleik, a 99-stringed folk zither native to Germany and Finland. Despite their impressive chops, the instrumental tracks are tight and focused, without layering up odd sounds just to show off, with lyrics that can be both macabre and playful. Unlike many musicians who are not native speakers of English, the Katzenjammer gals have a fine command of rhyme, meter, and vernacular Americanisms, adding an extra crackle to their tunes. There isn't a weak track on the disc, but several jump out at you from the first listen. "A Bar in Amsterdam" sounds like a bluegrass tune played by a Gypsy brass band, with a dark lyric and the energy of a bar full of desperate drunks at closing time. "Demon Kitty Rag," their hit from 2009, combines ragtime, clattering banjo, hot fiddling, and jubilant Andrews Sisters-like scat vocals. The title tune name-checks the Cramps, and sounds like Kate and Cindy of the B-52's fronting a Russian folk band, while "Mother Superior" is a waltz that suggests ominous 1930s German cabaret and sports one of the album's most sinister lyrics. ~ j. poet

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2017
Label:	Nettwerk Mod
UPC:	0067003113328
Rank:	28355

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Katzenjammer   Primary Artist
Solveig Heilo   Glockenspiel,Contrabass Balalaika,Tuba,Domra,Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Zither,Trumpet,Accordion,Harmonica,Music Box,Washboard,Percussion,Tack Piano
Hasse Rosbach   Vocals
Anne Marit Bergheim   Banjo,Domra,Piano,Bottle,Vocals,Mandolin,Accordion,Mellotron,Pipe Organ,Pump Organ,Guitar (Acoustic)
Kare Christoffer Vestrheim   Mellotron,Pipe Organ,Tack Piano
Gunnhild Mathea Olaussen   Violin
Odd Norstoga   Accordion
Silje Katrine Gotaas   Cello
Jorgen Sandvik   Banjo,Sitar
Turid JoRgensen   Mandolin,Theremin,Accordion,Cardboard Box,Contrabass Balalaika,Banjo,Drums,Piano,Vocals
Marianne Sveen   Banjo,Drums,Piano,Bottle,Guitar,Vocals,Ukulele,Accordion,Percussion,Pipe Organ,Tack Piano,Piano (Grand),Contrabass Balalaika
Gjertrud Okland   Violin,Trumpet

Technical Credits

Solveig Heilo   Group Member,Artwork,Composer,Engineer
Hasse Rosbach   Assistant Engineer
Mats Rybo   Composer
Katzenjammer   Arranger
Mike Hartung   Mixing,Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Anne Marit Bergheim   Composer,Group Member
Kare Christoffer Vestrheim   Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Mixing
Hans Petter Gundersen   Producer
Sophie Etchart   Photography
Sandrine Pagnoux   Cover Art
Spellemann Hansen   Engineer
Kaja Heilo   Artwork,Typography,Photography
Per Olav Heimstad   Artwork,Photography
Turid JoRgensen   Group Member
Marianne Sveen   Composer,Group Member
Kato Adland   Producer