- Label: 'Think Like A Key Music'
- Genre: 'Indie'
- Release Date: '21.2.25.'- Catalogue No: 'TLAK1207'
Our Rating:
This is the Remastered re-issue of Ex Norwegian's fourth and fifth albums from way back in 2013/4, fully remastered and ready for the ears of old and new listeners alike. Due to downloading madness on my end I've reviewed them the wrong way round, so I got to snort those Wasted Lines before getting all whacked out on Crack once more. The band for Wasted Lines was Fernando Perdomo, Roger Houdaille, Derek Cintron, Nicole Marcus, Lucia Perez and for Crack the band was Roger Houdaille, Lucas Querioz, Alex Ibanez, Derek Cintron and Michelle Grand.
Wasted Lines opens with CheepCheep which is not what Wasted Lines might seem to be, when you get you see it blown off the table however accidentally, this slightly off-centre indie garage rock tune makes like a rock & roll chicken once more, with proper bargain basement guitar histrionics.
Be There where it's at, so you can groove along with this, joining in with the clap track and having fun wondering what they are so patiently waiting to happen.
Much Rooms has a slightly downbeat edge, to all the wondering how who you'll meet in those rooms, are you in narcotic anonymous or is it Alcoholics or shopaholics rooms, listen and figure it out, with the wonder in Lucia's vocals helping you to figure it all out.
Unstoppable is just what you are after a few too many of those lines, the chilled guitars and arrangements remind be a bit of My Drug Hell.
All The Time is hoping for a long-term relationship, the synths warp and weave around the acoustic guitars, this builds gently.
First Time takes us back to the days of wonder and possibility before you find out what love is all about, Spanish tinged guitars draw you into this glossy indie pop world, every bit as catchy as any of the hits The Sundays had.
You Could Be Someone but yet the way you behave you'll never quite be the someone you want to be, this has all sorts of psychedelic effects.
It's Too Late no really it is, this isn't any of the other songs you may know with this title, but don't worry this indie psyche pop tune leads you into the final moments of that split.
Only The Clues can let on to how you've been wasting your life, getting cynical that this is in need a proper chugging beat, over driven amps, to get to the core of what you need to do to find the answers to these clues among all those Wasted Lines.
Unfair To Compare has backwards sounding guitars, Indian percussion patterns and a knowing glint in the vocals reminiscent of The Audience era Sophie Ellis Bextor, who it would be Unfair To Compare this too.
Love Is Built around that tabla like sound, love is emoted, gently caressed bassline bringing more love to you.
The Bonus songs begin with Rhyme Mind swirling psychedelia floating in a lava lamp lined room, oil wheels pattern the ceiling and you just trip gently along with them.
Feeling It making you feel fine like your soul has been soothed in a lush like existence, this is nicely upbeat.
Count On Me is sing along indie pop fun with some great weird buzzing thing going on in the left speaker, this builds into a great chorus and is good and bouncy fun for helping each other out and getting through all the troubles around you.
Love Is (Electric Version) is lushly psyched out hazy gloss pop, for finding the warm embrace of someone you want to share your love with, almost as Hazy as Mazzy Star stripped of the opiated edge, this is more trippy LSD ecstasy.
My Days Are Numbered is fraught, psychotic miasma of despair, despondency for how you feel suffering at the bottom of the heap, searching for Kelly wherever she might be hiding her Manx soul, turning everything upside down.
So Fine (It's Frightening) on of those magic moments in time when everything has worked out, bliss has arrived with dappled guitars sparing percussion and slowly invasive strings floating across your mind.
I Know That You Should reworks a lates 60's pop tune through a 90's psyche edge to give it a cool modern indie pop twist or three.
Baby Your lame well what did you expect, it had to go wrong with someone as boring as you are, this sounds like you may have wanted to listen to shambling anoraks all day long, she needs more excitement than that.
European TV has a very upfront guitar solo, leading us on a journey into the weird word of Euro TV , the weird odd vocals make it more at the odder end of Polish and Spanish broadcasting.
Pretty Paradox is locked into its own dichotomy of slightly off, heavily reverbed vocals hiding behind the guitars and keyboards.
Find out more at https://www.thinklikeakey.com/release/488641-ex-norwegian-wasted-lines-2025-remaster https://www.facebook.com/realexnorwegian https://www.exnorwegian.com/ https://exnorwegian.bandcamp.com/album/wasted-lines-2025-remaster
