GLUTTON – Skiva Heter Vishnu!

RELEASE YEAR: 2025
BAND URL: https://glutton.bandcamp.com/album/skiva-heter-vishnu

The musically eclectic and consistently playful Norwegian trio known as Glutton are experts at churning out highly dynamic and oftentimes explosive songs that shift seamlessly between hard-hitting jazz rock, old-school prog, and a wee bit of psychedelia for good measure, and the results are not merely satisfying but also thoroughly intoxicating. It took this scribe a dozen of spins before the disc and its richly layered content had been absorbed properly, and subsequent listens revealed that this is the kind of thing that simply keeps on giving the more one digs into it. Each composition is a masterful exercise in how to craft a lengthy piece that neither loses momentum nor appear anything less than engaging. Fuzzed-up and energetic tracks such as “Hallux Valgus” and “Ørkensur” deliver exquisite ensemble playing and hard-rock crescendos with a twist while “Elskotisk” is slightly moodier and more evocative than the others – almost to the point of feeling relaxing although it seems slightly absurd to use that word considering how diverse it actually is. The grooves of “Rematusenogennatt” are lovely and the arrangements of said tune will make your head spin. Talk about atmosphere! The song titles are delightfully humorous and surreal, which is perfectly in line with what the album cover signifies, and the fact that you can merge fun and complexity in such a manner as this is testament to how talented these gentlemen are. Heck, they even sneak a few punk-inspired riffs and parts into the mix just to keep you on your toes.

Skiva Heter Vishnu! is cohesive as a whole, and the material literally bounces out of the speakers due to what sounds like sheer joy and enthusiasm on the part of the band. Prog-ish jazz rock rarely sounds as living and breathing as it does here, so make sure you head over to Bandcamp and check this out as you will be pleasantly surprised at just how inviting this stuff truly is. Just remember that it requires quite a bit from the listener too.