Stubb

“This is Norwegian folk music… WITH AC/DC CHORDS!” Gangar’s Hardanger fiddle player Mattias Thedens bellowed out in a tiny hotel room late at night at Folk Alliance this year. A sweat-covered madman, moments later he flew across the hotel room demonstrating the Norwegian hallingdans, narrowly missing jump-kicking an audience member in the head. It was the wildest Folk Alliance set since Billy Strings’ first appearance years ago. With their first full-length album, Stubb, out now, Norwegian quintet Gangar deliver on their promise of folk music in a full metal jacket. With crushing chords, pounding basslines and an irrepressible Hardanger fiddler at the helm, the band brings the fire of their live shows to the studio. It’s a bit over the top and tongue-in-cheek at times, but Gangar take the tradition seriously. Thedens scoured old archives to find these melodies from all over Norway. Of special note on the album: Oskar Goendvrind Lindeberget’s fluid saxophone mirrors the fiddle with impressive ease, and young Norwegian traditional singer Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen is a revelation (she’s on ‘Sukkeri Er Søtt’, but check out her album of Norwegian mouth music!). Scandi folk fused with metal is not new ground to plough, but rarely has it been done with such irreverent, mischievous joy.