Minor Majority 🇳🇴 - 'Kiss Off' (Album)

I try to focus on artists that I believe are ‘Indie‘ and often have smaller followings, rather than those on bigger labels and with thousands of social media followers. Where Minor Majority fit in I’m not entirely sure, they’re a really well established band with an excellent reputation in Norway and beyond, but it’s also true that they’ve not really had that much exposure in the UK, which is a shame, so a few words on their recent album 'Kiss Off' seems reasonable.

Impressively it's their 7th studio album, a process which started as a duo back in 2000 before expanding for live dates, with 5 albums before a 10 year hiatus after their 2009 release 'Either Way I Think You Know'. Following their return in 2019 with 'Napkin Poetry' they haven't rested long, continuing with 'Kiss Off', which has been accompanied by a mega- Norwegian tour. It’s also worth pointing out that they released a Live Album in 2020, and they've toured extensively across Scandinavia and wider-Europe - but not here, at least to my knowledge.

Anyway, the album is just really lovely, so I'll suggest a few highlights. Opening and title track 'Kiss Off' features Christel Also and the dual vocals work really well, as do the gorgeous string and wind arrangements, which are perfectly judged. Tracks such as 'Nosedive' are very typically understated, and Pål Angelskår has one of those vocal styles (similarly to Kurt Wagner from Lambchop) that is able to carry slow tempo tracks simply because he has such a pure and authoritative voice.

'Brilliant Mistake' and 'The Best of Us', however, do lift the pace somewhat, the latter really setting a powerful lyrical scene, whilst the stripped back 'Concerning David Palmer' reintroduces more beautifully framed string arrangements, the last minute of the track being really delightful. And they end with 'Meat and Potatoes Metal', with stand out lyrics and another appealing catchy tune..

This is another finely handcrafted and melodic indie folk / pop release from Minor Majority, a band that I missed out on for many years because that hiatus came at a time when I was discovering so many Nordic bands. Really hope there's still chance for them to make it over to the UK, but if not they have an amazing back catalogue for us all to discover.

Find them on Facebook or Instagram.