The Norwegian heroes Orions Belte make quite an impression with these three slabs of vinyl, where each member gets their own solo album, and the sounds that are created often separate themselves from the throwback pop we’re used to from the trio.
The bass player, Chris Holm, starts the project, where “Changes” births crisp drums and guitars with plenty of atmosphere and bouts of strings alongside Holm’s smooth voice, and “After The Smoke Clears” follows with Alexander von Mehren’s vibraphone and Øyvind Blomstrøm’s steel guitar for waves of grooves and melody.
Further on into this portion, “Maybe” features Sondre Leche on vocals for the mesmerizing and retro-pop nods, though it’s the rhythmic, buzzing and pretty textures of “GUN” that really draws us in.
Øyvind Blomstrøm handles his album entirely on his own, and brings a bit of mystery to the stylish “Pineapple Juice,” and the scrappy garage-rock sensibilities of “Scared Of Heights” alone is worth the price of admission for the box set. Other highlights from Blomstrøm included the nearly twang-like “Let’s Watch The Grass Grow,” and the twinkling psychedelic gestures of the swirling “Star Eyes.”
The last seven tracks belong to Kim Åge Furuhaug, and they feature Ole Morten Vågan and Andreas Ulvo, two of Norway’s best jazz musicians, who help him flesh out the soothing and dreamy jazz of “Langeland Frukt & Tobakk.” “Astagjol” then births a very radiant display of calculated bass plucking and elegant keys to complement Furuhaug’s proficient drumming.
The concept here is an ambitious idea that legends like KISS and Wu-Tang Clan have had success with. There is much talent to be found among the three members of Orions Belte, and this project lets them explore and expand their folk, indie, alt-rock, jazz, psychedelic and world-music friendly ways.
