PANZERPAPPA – Landsbysladder

RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://panzerpappa.bandcamp.com/album/landsbysladder It has been a long time since I last sat with a new record by the lovely Norwegian proggers known as Panzerpappa between my hands, but I can honestly that this time around has been the most exciting and stimulating one yet. Landsbysladder, which roughly translates to village gossip, sees the…

LORENTZEN – Leave Nobody Behind

RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://apollonrecords.no/products/lorentzen-leave-nobody-behind-cd Apollon Records were kind enough to hand me a copy of Leave Nobody Behind, which was composed and crafted by the talented Eivind Lorentzen (ex-Gentle Knife, Oldenborre, and Synsbedragerne), and the idea behind the album and lyrics seemed a rather interesting and intriguing one on paper. Floating somewhere between atmospheric prog,…

ANDERS BUAAS – Trollringen

RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://andersbuaas.bandcamp.com/album/trollringen The epic and ambitious trilogy titled The Witches of Finnmark (2017-2019) by the immensely talented Anders Buaas was a captivating musical saga, and I was therefore rather curious as to whether something sporting the intriguing title Trollringen would somehow follow in that same vein or perhaps be more akin to the…

PYMLICO – Core

RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://pymlicomusic.bandcamp.com/ Core is the fifth full-length album by Norwegian prog rockers Pymlico to have been released by Apollon Records (and the ensemble’s eighth overall as far as I recall), and it is easily the group’s most organic, accessible, and memorable output to date, which is saying something. The brilliant and intuitive interplay…

SOFT FFOG – Focus

RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://softffog.bandcamp.com/album/focus Considering the fact that these kick-ass Norwegian jazz proggers wrote and recorded such a stunning and unique debut album as they did back in 2022, it should come as no surprise that some of us had high hopes for this sophomore effort of theirs and expected great things. Soft Ffog are…

WIZRD – Elements

RELEASE YEAR: 2024  BAND URL: https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/elements The musically gifted and delightfully adventurous Norwegian rockers named Wizrd released a stunning debut album titled Seasons back in 2022, and ever since then I have been looking forward to its follow- up. Elements will arrive in early December and let me tell you straight up that this could very…

THE VERGE – The Verge

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the–verge.bandcamp.com/album/the-verge The latest release on the lovable Is It Jazz? Records is a proper tour de force in every conceivable way and a dizzying yet incredibly cohesive output that harbors a raw, authentic power unlike anything else that I have come across.   This musically tasty and elegant yet highly explosive…

LAUGHING STOCK – Shelter

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://laughingstock1.bandcamp.com/album/shelter Norwegian prog rockers Laughing Stock have never been anything but adventurous and many of their outputs possess a creative wanderlust that sees them covering quite a bit of musical ground while showcasing an impressive ability to balance what can only be termed intimately introspective with themes that are larger in…

SOLSTEIN – Solstein

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…

DATADYR – 23.02.2023 – Bergen, Norway

VENUE: Apollon PlatebarDATE: 23.02.2023 ORGANIZER: Apollon Platebar/Is It Jazz? Records   Being a huge fan of Datadyr’s two outputs on Is it Jazz? Records, it goes without saying that yours truly could not miss out on the ridiculously skilled trio’s mini-concert at the awesome and always attractive Apollon Platebar in the city center yesterday. With…

DATADYR – Keymaster

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://datadyr.bandcamp.com/album/keymaster A sparkling and brand-new digital EP by the immensely talented Datadyr is a most welcome thing to these ears, and those of you who enjoy the jazzier aspects of prog rock, blues, and Americana will undoubtedly find something worth celebrating and cherishing here. Bursting with energy and filled to the…

AKSEL RØED’S OTHER ASPECTS – Do You Dream in Colours?

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://isitjazzrecords.no/ With Do You Dream in Colours? we are quite far removed, musically and stylistically speaking, from what you are probably accustomed to reading on the Eternal Terror Live website, but I would feel like a complete tit if I did not write a few short lines about this stellar offering…

INTRODUCING IS IT JAZZ? RECORDS – AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN KVAM

Earlier this year, a very exciting new venture named Is It Jazz? Records was launched by the gentlemen who are also responsible for running and handling everything in relation to the well-known Norwegian labels Karisma Records and Dark Essence Records. Now, the thing is that jazz is many things to so many people, which is…

WIZRD – Seasons

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/WIZRDTHEBAND/ Fancy something different? The musically enticing new act named Wizrd is about to release this spirited and energetic slab of utterly cool and catchy rock music via Karisma Records, and let me start out by saying that you should add it to your list of albums to check out if…

DATADYR – Woolgathering

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: Datadyr – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian trio known as Datadyr is a musically enticing one, and this dynamic group shows impeccable skill here with respect to delivering powerful tunes that are rooted in jazz but where prog, blues, and traces of Americana are expertly woven into the mix. What amazes…

PYMLICO – Supermassive

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: http://www.pymlico.no/ Norwegian prog(-ish) rockers Pymlico have returned with an elegantly structured album that brilliantly showcases that the 7-piece band are on peak form and know exactly how to craft admirably sparkling songs that crackle with energy. “Supermassive” is close in spirit to the group’s previous outputs, which is to say that…

SOFT FFOG – Soft Ffog

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://facebook.com/Softffog/ The recently launched Norwegian label named Is It Jazz? Records is off to a flying start with this deftly executed 4-track LP by prog rockers Soft Ffog who also hail from Norway. Well, jazz prog rockers, I suppose. For those of you out there who crave thunderous riffs, fret not…

THE TRONOSONIC EXPERIENCE – The Shadow Vol. II

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: The Tronosonic Experience Oh man, this 6-track sequel to “The Shadow Vol. I” is just as playful, unpredictable, and immersive as its predecessor was, and this Norwegian jazz prog/avantgarde rock outfit simply rules beyond belief. Their spirited take on all things forward-thinking is inspired, and these gentlemen sure know how to…

THE TRONOSONIC EXPERIENCE – The Shadow Vol. 1

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/tronosonic/ How on earth this one snuck right by me back in March is beyond me, but the most important thing is that I recently got my hands on this psychedelic-looking digipak by the Norwegian jazz/prog/avant-garde noisemakers The Tronosonic Experience. Let me tell you right here and now that “The Shadow…