THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...KALANDRA – A Frame Of Mind (By Norse Music)

Many years ago, back in the bad old days when anything metal was disparaged, a colleague sneeringly once said: “I suppose you consider what you listen to as art?” Well, yes, I do actually. And as evidence, had that conversation taken place in the here and now, I would have presented ‘A Frame Of Mind’ by Oslo-based Norwegian / Swedish quartet Kalandra. Their second album has an inherent beauty and a peerless diversity as it seamlessly transcends musical boundaries and merges genres. At the bottom line, for the sake of simplicity, you might wrap it up as pagan folk metal, but it’s a gloriously progressive release, and when they crank it up it can be a heavy little beast, too.

photo by Linnea Syversen

Its title neatly personifies its over-arching lyrical content around mental well-being and questions of belonging and displacement, delivered passionately by Katrine Stenbekk and exquisitely framed within the album’s ten compositions. Songs like the lilting piano of ‘Hytta’, the low-key closer ‘I Remember A Time’ and ‘A Life Worth Living’, despite their low-key pastoral approach, still boast a powerful attraction and offer a healthy contrast to the heavier material like ‘Bardaginn’ and opener ‘I Am’ in which the rest of Kalandra – guitarists Jogeir Daae Mæland and Florian Döderlein and drummer Oskar Johnsen Rydh – get to flex their muscles. And as proceedings begin drawing to a close ‘Segla’ pops up and reveals itself to be a masterclass on how to craft a song around an obsessive and ever-building refrain.

‘A Frame Of Mind’ is pretty much the perfect album. Captivating vocals and flawless execution combine with incredibly deep and meaningful songs to create what is one of this year’s finest releases so far. Trust me on this.

Videos:
‘The State Of The World’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH4rbzwrTIc
‘Bardaginn’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcpe23dG-jk

John Tucker September 2024