Sometimes a band only needs one or two records to reach their point zenith creative and expressive, to the point that everything that comes after can seem like a faded copy of what was proposed in the disruptive beginnings. In some contexts, however, such as those niches where apprenticeship and word of mouth count, the opposite happens and, often thanks to the initial lack of means, it takes quite a few records to really find the right thing.
Garlic hardcorer Norwegians Honningbarna needed seven records to find this square. Not that the bad boys led by Edvard Valberg lacked some mine to stir up the crowds, but what we hear in chapter seven of their discography, this explosive “Soft Spot”, is truly something unheard of.
The sky is gray behind the council houses portrayed on the cover of “Soft Spot” and above their silhouettes stands a post-modern knight in a plastic pose reminiscent of nineteenth-century war painting, but instead of the garrison uniform he dresses oversized parkaof an Adidas tracksuit with the three stripes. And he leads the charge towards a sort of digital rainbow.
Of course, it takes a bit of imagination to get there without listening to the record, but the cover art it perfectly anticipates the explosive content of the thirteen tracks. To the virulent hardcore nature of Refused and Fucked Up, Honningbarna add whirlwinds of color made of synthesizers and digital effects, while to the piercing social invectives they add the irony of the Viagra Boys and, why not, a bit of dickishness of the Hives.
If the opener “Schaefer” is pure killer hardcore, growled singing, sharp guitars and destructive drums, things start to get complicated, and much more fun, starting from “Amor Fati”. The keyboards start flashing like the lights of a raveValberg sings like a carnival trumpet, and sitting still becomes very, very difficult. Just as it is impossible, despite the Norwegian's hostility, not to hum the melody of the chorus of “Festen som aldri stopper” – enriched by guitar textures that will conquer the indie-rock fans of the early noughties.
“God gutt” seems to want to bring the album back to more purely hardcore territories, but then suddenly deviates towards an inter-zone rave punk with lots of thunder bass dropsa scenario in which we also return for a cybernetic finale entitled “Ultraoyer”. What's in between is no less engaging, abrasive and fun, but then again, in case you hadn't figured it out, we're talking about the hardcore album of the year. A work in which the wild Norwegians do not become natural, but reach full stylistic maturity by expanding their sound universe in a sort of post-hardcore in technicolor which does not deny itself softer moments and clearer melodies.
08/12/2025
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
