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Sketch

by Ex Norwegian

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  • Digital Album
    Streaming + Download

    Order the second Ex Norwegian album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. Includes digital booklet and video for Jet Lag.
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  • CD Edition (US Shipping)
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The 2011 Dying Van Gogh Records CD edition with booklet. Few copies around!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sketch via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
Jet Lag 03:10 video
I can't believe what you said to me I better believe it it's a fact Taking the pain out of everything I could say I have no problem with that And when you're own your own It's not living, it's not living anymore I say the same thing most every day It's only fun if you make it that way Saving the sun for a rainy day Is only a good idea when you're insane Make me insane, make me insane You're in sane And when you're own your own It's not living, it's not living anymore And when you move your feet You're just leaving, you're just leaving it up to me
2.
Hard ball got it all Left the states in a brand new car Reach the port, standing tall Wait for captains board Relax, I wont be back I've spent all of your hard earned tax Over the oceans until shore I'm free Smashing time my friends Have a ball You know you're bound to fall, so long No need for lies you're all installed Thanks again, alvedansen You know its harder than appears So save your sneers 'cause I don't hear Don't try to start no war Relax, I wont be back I've spent all of your hard earned tax Over the oceans until shore I'm free Smashing time my friends Have a ball You know you're bound to fall, so long No need for lies you're all installed Smashing time is here Have a beer Celebrate I have no fear You'll never reach me You'll never even know I'm here Smashing time my friends Have a ball You know you're bound to fall, so long No need for lies you're hypnotized Smashing time is here Have a beer Celebrate I have no fear You'll never reach me You'll never even come near Smashing time my friends Have a ball
3.
Mind Down 03:17
Greed supersedes my wish and desire Dangle a carrot in front and I'll just throw it back in fire Reset when you're dressed and a flower in power Afraid of what I might say next I've started a quagmire Got my thoughts, feelings, controlled Money media drugs health and roads Don't mention food and water I'll be fine if you don't holler I'll be fine if you don't holler Stress to impress the latest Readers' Digest Bring the melon turn the faucet on and undress Change where you spend your means and a barber Rock and roll cruise control the goddaughters a liar Got my thoughts, feelings, controlled Money media drugs health and roads don't mention food and water I'll be fine if you don't holler I'll standby if you don't holler I'll be fine if you don't holler The truth is stranger than fiction Threat is your bet that you know you can pet Keep it dry or else you'll find yourself getting wet Blues in your clues fool the passion of dudes Send it wire watch rates higher than your current debt Got my thoughts, feelings, controlled Money media drugs health and roads Don't mention food and water I'll be fine if you don't holler I'll be fine if you don't holler I'll be fine
4.
Sky Diving 03:17
You said you're a Swedish little woman But you didn't understand The question asked wasn't in the palm of your hand You said you're a British Casanova But you failed to stand What she didn't know was it was all your plan She said you're a real soft pusher But you don't know why You never answered no you never cried It's all equal to the love you had you two In spite of who was there, you two had to share It's all equal now, your future's there somehow Whatever happened to? Whatever happened to the love you had? They said they're little bit jealous In the larger scene It doesn't matter where or with whom you've been Whatever happened to? Whatever happened to the love you had? You said nanananana, You said
5.
Hey hey hey Mr. Doctor man Fire fire fire look what you brought again Ship got wrecked over medicine Hey hey hey what d’ya have to sayHey hey hey Mr. Doctor man Fire fire fire look what you brought again Ship got wrecked over medicine Hey hey hey what d'ya have to say Salt drip sweat sun has had its day Shoot one two hope I get to you Marble eyes say OK yeah yeah World is yours and mine Sea to swim and leave me behind Hey hey hey ship has sailed and gone Gone gone gone with the doctors son Run run run run run run run run run You're elastic over me You're elastic over me You're elastic over me You're elastic Salt drip sweat sun has had its day Shoot one two hope I get to you Marble eyes say ok yeah yeah World is yours and mine Sea to swim and leave me behind Hey hey hey ship has sailed and gone Gone gone gone with the doctors son Run run run run run run run run run You’re elastic over me You’re elastic over me You’re elastic over me You’re elastic
6.
Seconds 03:31
You've got your birthday card Sitting up there looking tall And your eyes on a magazine Things are not quite as they seem Say, don't let it wait for another day is near So beautiful, awe you know it's great You have no faith in me Bought it all up seconds free Whats more is more than you feel Stuck around too long in here So say, don't let it wait for another day is near So beautiful, awe you know it's true So nice, don't think twice Knowing that you feel the same way too What in the world can you do? But stand up and believe and pursue You're running around with no tracks Don't stand on them too long intact Save, what do you say for a rainy day is near So say, don't let it wait for another day is near So beautiful, awe you know its so So nice, don't think twice Knowing that you feel the same way too
7.
Do what you do you can, say what you ought to do In this world you're right to Feel how you want to feel, in that it will appeal to the fight of your life When you do what you know you can put down the show And if you try real hard and stand up for yourself you will see You're upper hand is showing The light is on, keep growing You know your right deep in your heart Don't throw it in, keep going on Be who you want to be, live in this century the frequencies will change Save what you want to save, don't do what puppets say For they don't know left, right from wrong What you do when you do it's all what you create, and realize with your mind and control your own fate If you try and don't stay afraid to change the way of your soul You're upper hand is showing The light is on, keep growing You know your right deep in your heart Don't throw it in, keep going on
8.
Turn Left 03:13
Got no time to face no facts Got no time for this and that So where I'll end up? Tomorrow I don't know Got no time to face my fears Got no time shed no tears When the whistle blows I will it feel it in my ear Got no time to I love you Got no time to say I do When you finally know Where to find my show Find it in a place Nearby Sweden oh oh That's where I'm-uh go Send regards fo sho laughing all the way to Spain oh oh When you feel good nothing can go wrong When you feel good When you feel strong nothing can go wrong When you feel good Nothing can go wrong without a try When you feel strong Nothing can go wrong without a sigh When you feel good And with your loving chime You mesmerize to be there Got no time to face no facts Got no time for this and that When you finally know Where to find my show Find it in a place Nearby Sweden oh oh
9.
Acting on an island Expression far too thin Nothing you've expected You're not in east Berlin Watching closely assumes the role that mainland can't replace Noting it impeccable with emotions and false face Dancing on an island Cross legged on your floor Feeling like you've never Ever felt before The silence beckons you to find the reason on this space But seasons not your best adhere, deserving a tax break Robbing on an island Your pants don't fit your waist It's easier when dark out They won't tell whose is place After shocks plead guilty to those knowing of your case It's possible the impossible, be freed from the human race
10.
Girl with the moustache Driving off in her Mustang When she leaves she learns With her top lip she burns It's not her grace, it's not her race It's not her smile or her lifestyle It's in her head, in her head She's all she sees Moustached beauty For the girl with the moustache In her nest amongst the wealth When she leaps she turns With her sharp lip she burns She's in the know, she's in the know Connect and go, connect to go In your head, in your head She's all we see moustached beauty Girl with the moustache Driving off in her Mustang When she leave she learns With her top lip she burns She's in the know, she's in the know Connect and go, connect to go In your head, in your head She lets it bare Ring new affair with her hair Down the road and down to you and me And the further it grows Its left a stranglehold on you and me Within arms reach tangles up around deserted beach And the moment you stare It's obvious you're in underwear With the girl with the most stash Can't forget the girls with Mustangs When she leaves she learns With her top lip she burns With her top down she rolls With her hair loose she owns With her top lip she burns With another one she goes Watch out now! Girl with the moustache Girl with the most flash Girl with the most stash

about

Ex Norwegian Continues Their Dizzying Ascent With Sketch, Their Second Album Sketch Compliments the Band’s Live Shows With Tunes Full of Sonic Surprises and Intense Energy.

Ex Norwegian takes their name from a Monty Python routine about a dead parrot and while the tunes head Norwegian Roger Houdaille writes have humorous moments, this is a serious band. “I like to say we play art-rock, because there’s a lot of things happening in the music,” Houdaille says. “The songs tend to be in odd keys, with varying tempos and arrangements that go off in all directions. The lyrics are abstract, or dense, or talking about conspiracies, or ways to improve the world - and girls with moustaches. We’re all over the place.”

The first Ex Norwegian song, “Something Unreal”, was posted on MySpace in 2008. A week later, a radio station in Hawaii started streaming the song and the band was invited to perform at the CMJ convention in New York, where they blew the audience away with their stage act. Standby, the band’s first album, introduced Houdaille’s skewed pop vision and their live shows created a groundswell of fan interest.

Sketch, their new record, fulfills the promise of Standby, fleshing out Houdaille’s quirky songs with inventive flourishes from the band - Arturo Garcia, drums; Nina Souto, bass and vocals and Houdaille on guitar and lead voice. “Sketch is a band record, a result of playing together on the road for a year. Everyone contributed ideas to the songs and came up with their own parts. We produced ourselves, doing the drum tracks at a friend’s studio and overdubbing almost everything else at my place in Miami. Some last minutes tweaks were done in Manhattan.”

The songs on Sketch are an eclectic lot, moving from gentle acoustic laments to metallic power pop rockers. Houdaille’s cheery vocal surfs a wave of distorted noise on the opener “Jet Lag.” An explosion of grungy guitars creates an interesting tension with the song’s lilting melody. Souto sings lead on “You’re Elastic Over Me”, a puzzling pop tune that features echoing xylophone, acoustic guitar, synthesized strings and a cascading vocal chorus. “Smashing Time” is the tale of an embezzler thumbing his nose at the people he defrauded from an island retreat. Its crunchy guitars and driving pulse suggests mid-period Kinks. The band’s skewed tropical rhythms – somewhere between a tango and a cha cha cha - make the mysterious lyrics of “Acting On An Island” sound other worldly. Houdaille’s vocals here are mellow and detached, sounding like a crooner comfortable in the embrace of several martinis. “Girl with the Moustache” was inspired by Hole and closes the set with another mash up of hard rock and pop. The guitar break brings to mind Jimmy Page playing a George Harrison lick. The songs on Sketch flow into each other without a pause, capturing the energy of a live show, leaving you slightly off balance and ready for anything, the way all great rock bands do.

“Ex Norwegian came together in Miami Beach,” Houdaille explains. “I wouldn’t write the kind of songs I do if I lived somewhere else. That said, it’s not the kind of music you’d associate with Miami Beach. It’s not electronica, Latin or hip-hop, but being isolated from the bigger rock scenes does lend itself to the creative process in a positive way. Isolated Rock, anyone?”

credits

released November 15, 2011

Produced by Ex Norwegian. Mixed by Keith Freund and Phil Hill except for "Mind Down" by Zach Ziskin.

THE BAND
Roger Houdaille: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards
Nina Souto: Bass, Vocals
Arturo Garcia: Drums, Vocals, Cuatro, Vibes, Percussion, Guitar

Tracks 1,2,4,6,7 written by Roger Houdaille
Tracks 3,9 written by Roger Houdaille, Arturo Garcia, Nina Souto
Track 5 written by Arturo Garcia, Nina Souto
Track 8,10 written by Roger Houdaille, Arturo Garcia
ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY THINK LIKE A KEY (SESAC)

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Ex Norwegian

“Ex Norwegian is easily one of the best pop bands of all time...”
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