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Ex Norwegian — Spook du Jour
(Bandcamp Think Like a Key TLAK1127, 2022, CD / LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-09-30

Spook du Jour Cover art

Basking in the South Florida sun of Miami Beach, you will find Roger Houdaille and friends (AKA Ex Norwegian) churning out power pop psych songs. Named after a Monty Python sketch, Roger and bandmates have released a new album Spook du Jour. Interesting but somewhat obscure title and so are the lyrics to the twelve songs: “Teen Bakery,” “Vicious Cycles,” “Ciancia,” “Burn It,” “Airlash,” “Thot Patrol,” “Paging Lisa,” “Crazy Paying,” “Fresh ATM,” “For Your Conveniences,” “Saving for No Future,” and “Center Mario.” I do have to admit that I normally don’t pay much attention to lyrics, but with Spook du Jour I am clueless. These must be very personal songs that only Roger and his close friends understand lyrically. “Ciancia” puzzles me. Is Ciancia a name or is it the Italian word for nonsense? On the other hand, the music is fun and full of hooks to pull you into his world. He even spices things up from time to time with Mellotron, most noticeably on “Thot Patrol,” a title that reminded me of Frank Zappa, but I’m not exactly sure if Roger is commenting on the Brain Police. And Mellotron again on “Save for No Future,” a particularly pessimistic song title. For me, the best song on the album is “For Your Conveniences,” an aggressive pop psych jam. But overall, I think they’ve spent too much time in the sun smoking that loco weed, and that may be the only way to truly understand this album.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Ex Norwegian

More info
http://exnorwegian.bandcamp.com/album/spook-du-jour

 

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