I’ll admit, I am a total newcomer to Norwegian experimenters of sonic weaving, Kambodsja. But it seems now is the best time ever to hop on board as a fan (yes, let’s get this out of the way right now – I’ve been won over today), because after 6 long years, they have returned with a new album and plenty of energy to boot. Today, we get a first look at this new album. Click the video below to have your mind blown and your fingers scrolling fast to the pre-order link for none other than Resilient, the newest effort of the band, and the subject of today’s premiere!
By the time I’m typing this paragraph, I’m completely hooked on the tracks “Shade to the Sun”, “Die Hard 2”, and “Basement Prophet”, and that’s just within the first half of the record. Kambodsja clearly know how to write a record. Being a band that delves into multiple genres, styles, and otherwise sonic territories, it can be difficult to really ‘pull it off’ in a stylish, natural way that doesn’t feel too scattered or all over the place. A major strong point I hear throughout Resilient is how organically, smoothly, and effortlessly the songs transition into one another, and all the different sounds are blended in such a way that boasts cohesion along with bold songwriting approaches and choices that span from ambience, aggressive, progressive rock, all the way to something that feels a bit more cinematic. At any rate, this record is massive both in timbre and its organized chaos so to speak, while being embellished in top-notch production quality that hides no presence of any and all voices involved.
‘This time, we moved the recording out of a regular studio, exchanged analog for digital, and allowed the surroundings to contribute as an extra dimension to the record project. We used our regular and well-established producer Øyvind Røsrud Gundersen and were given free rein in a barn in the Norwegian forest at Mjøndalen’s gem: Portåsen. The former home of the famous Norwegian poet Herman Wildenvey. Our background is from hardcore/punk, but this album is a renaissance of a band with more confidence, experience and more exploratory spirit than ever before. The result is our most commercially accessible album to date, toying with pop elements and melodies, but never without losing our punk heritage.‘
Kambodsja states their primary goal to be ‘making the music that comes most naturally to them there and then, without any particular guidelines, dogmas or genre rules‘. In that, they have succeeded thoroughly. The result of Resilient is a monument of what unapologetic composition can unlock, and even with its twists and turns, the entirety of the album doesn’t feel any less approachable for listeners of any wake. Plenty of catchy melodies will keep your ears entertained as you are sent through the cosmos of the band’s wildest imagination.
Resilient finds its way on all major platforms this Friday, September 29th, via Mas-Kina Recordings. You can pre-order the album here, and be sure to follow Kambodsja on their Facebook and Bandcamp for all updates! Inspired by ‘poetry, the struggle against oneself, and inner demons‘, Resilient is sure to find its way in a top albums list of 2023 releases, especially for those who appreciate underground music. Legendary material here, of which this writer will certainly be picking up a copy.
