Keith Shackleton on March 11th, 2010

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Maybe the eternal summer sunshine in Norway is the reason Oslo’s Serena-Maneesh sound like they do – suffering from “persistent and pervasive elevated or irritable mood,” stumbling into the blessed darkened sanctuary of a cave decked out as a recording studio, what other music could they make? Blurry sonic shock tactics, plowing the same space-dance furrow as the Klaxons, with submerged blasts of squally black metal guitar. Layers of distortion and battering motorik beats mix with trippy time-shifts and airy ethereal melodies. Whispered threats and the sweet vocals of Elvira Nikolaisen, sister of S-M mainstay Emil. Shoegazing with red eyes and a facial tic. Their album “Abyss in B Minor” comes out March 23 on 4AD. No finer place for them to be.

||| Download: “I Just Want To See Your Face”

||| Live: Serena-Maneesh perform March 22 at the Troubadour.

– By Keith Shackleton

Photo by Alex John Beck