Øen / Oen

Recording its debut album in a remote lighthouse, Norway’s Heyerdahl captured some of the dramatic grandeur of its native land on Oen. The foursome draws on themes of seafaring and folk religion for inspiration, matching its lyrics with a widescreen pop/rock sensibility suggestive of both ‘80s-era British bands like New Order and The Cure and such latter-day Scandinavian combos as Mew and Sigur Ros. Rumblings drums, luminous synthesizers, and desperation-tinged vocals give “Enkenbukten” and “Shadows” a high-vaulted musical architecture. “Mirage” revels in a misty atmosphere (accented by a bright steel drum line) that doesn’t obscure its radio-friendly melodic content. Hints of furtive romance and political intrigue flit through the simmering “Beast,” while “Blood” reins in the band’s prog-rock tendencies as it rides a coolly slinking groove. Throughout, lead singer Kevin Ishak manages to combine an enraptured sense of wonder with a rugged Nordic heroism. It all comes together in the final track, “Emerald the Killer”: a grand sonic ritual of thunderous peaks and murmuring valleys that lays out Heyerdahl’s expansive musical vision to its fullest.