Out of the savaged suburbs of Oslo comes the brainchild of Trond Gjellum – drummer from the legendary Norwegian prog rock band Panzerpappa. Suburban Savages consists of members from Panzerpappa, Ghost Karaoke, White Willow, Weserbergland, Fraction Distraction and Now’ve Got Members – bands that have distinguished themselves as playful ensembles with a willingness to expand the boundaries of pop and rock.
The result is unique: The catchy simplicity of pop music is mixed with the mind-blowing complexity of progressive rock. The music writer Richard Toftesund (of former Tarkus Magazine) described the music as follows: “A sort of mishmash between Brian Eno’s experimental pop music, Gentle Giant’s counterpoint exercises, Happy the Man and Kit Watkins’ joyful progressive rock, Lars Hollmer’s sentimental melodies, Steve Reich’s minimalism and post rock with a twist”.
In a genre transcending blend, hummable pop tunes merge with prog rock complexity, punk energy, folk music immediacy and post rock aesthetics – even within the same song! Suburban Savages manages to sound witty, catchy and experimental at the same time.
