Grande

Norway's Grande (MySpace) is the cold North's response to the Cramps with more of a haunted house vibe and a little more garage swagger and uh ... Jimi Hendrix singing? (No joke -- he sounds very much like ol' Jimi.)

Grande is just another indication of how old fashioned rock is making a comeback. These songs have the natural, raw catchiness of any boss garage tune that those garage originators and proto-punk fosters of the 60s would've played in their heyday melded with the musicality and junkyard assemblage of something along the lines of Beck's Odelay. While the rock quality is what shines through most predominantly, there's definitely a lot more at work beneath the surface (take "We Did It All," for example, which is more sleazy 70s funky disco than blues-infused pop), and that's the most exciting part of Grande's stuff!

Get the LP, Uppers, Downers, Screamers, & Howlers at one of these fine retailers. You will not be sorry.

Grande - Rhythms of Sin

Grande - We Did It All