Three Great Bands You May Not Have Heard Of

Just the other day I realized there are a few bands that I absolutely love that almost none of my friends have heard of. This has to change. You need to know about these guys.

And here’s the funny thing: all these bands are basically different collections of the same musicians, and all the musicians are Norwegian. Keep listening.

Thomas Dybdahl

Thomas Dybdahl is a singer songwriter guy. A little haunting on the vocals at points, with lyrics that are both deep and simple, he’s been compared to both Jeff Buckley and Nick Cave.

I like his music a lot. The production is amazing to listen to. Seriously, get a high quality version of Science and listen to it with some excellent headphones (like my Etymotic HF2’s), you won’t be sorry.

Dybdahl’s just come out with a new album and it’s pretty good. But my favorite album by far is Science (2006).

Jaga Jazzist

Jaga Jazzist was instant romance for me. They meld excellent musicianship with melody (not withstanding some nerd jazz/rock indulgence). I mean, the drums alone are worth the price of admission.

So, this band is basically a grab bag full of Norway’s best and brightest musicians. Lots of horns, piano, drums, guitar, electronic toys… It can be a little circusy at times, but it’s so worth it when the song comes together in some wild melody.

It’s not always easy to ingest, but it’s worth the listen. I’d say get the latest, One-Armed Bandit (2010) , and then move on to all the others, starting with What We Must .

The National Bank

The National Bank is basically a super group out in Norway; like the Police. It’s the best of Jaga Jazzist plus Thomas Dybdahl on the vocals. Together they play what I can only call a sort of high brow pop. It’s like accessible rhythm and melody layered with interesting musicianship and instrumentation… And I absolutely love it.

I’ve really saved the best for last here. You absolutely have to get this album Come On Over To The Other Side (2008) .

So there are a few musics for you, pre screened curated. Maybe you like one or several of them. If you do, let me know!