Embla and the Karidotters - Off Leash
The beast is loose and off the leash. Embla and the Karidotters are back with their second album. The debut Hello, I’m Embla won the Spellemann award (Norwegian Grammy) for best country album and took the band all over Norway and beyond. How do you follow that?
With more, obviously. Off Leash is just better, rawer and cooler. The star-studded band is really getting into the groove and sounds sharper than ever. Bandleader Embla Karidotter has grown leaps and bounds as both composer and lyricist and her twangy voice has a perfected huskiness.
The band’s sophomore album continues the band’s “honky tonk noir” sound with references to Ennio Morricone, Nancy Sinatra and David Lynch movies. Karidotter’s lyrics are humorous, self-deprecating and melancholic. Karidotter says: “The record distances itself from country, in the sense that we don’t really care about what’s right or wrong in the genre, but simultaneously takes inspiration from classic country-rock from the 50’s and 60’s.”
““Embla & The Karidotters have created yet another classic, clearly showing that they are Norway’s very best and most exciting country band these days.””
Embla and the Karidotters is the project of former Razika drummer Embla Karidotter. After the successful Norwegian indie combo was put on hiatus, Embla gathered her “Karidotters” from talented neighboring bands Honningbarna, Sløftface, Slomosa and Aiming for Enrike. They quickly started gigging and recording. The EP Howling was released in 2021, and they dropped their debut full length Hello, I’m Embla in the fall of 2022.
In 2023, Hello, I’m Embla was awarded a Spellemann award, a perfect conclusion to a successful release cycle. The summer of 2023 was busy with festivals, including a performance at Stagecoach in California and Norwegian festivals such as Øya and Vinjerock. 2024 was kicked off in style at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Embla and the Karidotters are: Embla Karidotter, Marie Moe, Simen Følstad Nilsen, Nils Jørgen Nilsen and Benjamin Rø Haavelsrud. Famed produced Matias Tellez helmed the band’s first two releases, whereas on Off Leash, they’ve done everything themselves and multi-instrumentalist Simen Følstad Nilsen produced and mixed the record.
Off Leash will be released on Jansen Records on August 23rd 2024.
INFO
Embla and the Karidotters – Off Leash
Art.no.: DWYBO015
Release date: August 23rd, 2024
Tracklist:
Side A
1. Bad Influence
2. Click Your Heels
3. I Need Some Light
4. Bluebird
5. Put Me First
Side B
6. Impending Doom
7. Couldn’t Care Less
8. Resting Bitch Face
9. (I’ll Never Love You) Like I Should
10. Affirmations
All songs written by Embla Karidotter. Arranged and performed by Embla and the Karidotters: Embla Karidotter, Marie Moe, Nils Jørgen Nilsen, Simen Følstad Nilsen and Benjamin Rø Haavelsrud.
Produced and mixed by Simen Følstad Nilsen. Mastered by Espen Høydalsvik at OSLO:Fuzz.
SINGLES
Bad Influence - released February 10th, 2023
(I’ll Never Love You) Like I Should - released April 21st, 2023
Click Your Heels - released February 15th, 2024
Couldn’t Care Less - released April 19th, 2023
Bluebird - released June 14th, 2024
Buy Embla and the Karidotters’ 7” single «Burn the City Down/Bergen Blues»
”True, she’s wearing a cowboy hat in the band photo, but this quartet plays country like Mazzy Star did.”
– VG
Photo by Hakan Foss