When Oslo’s Spielbergs brought their debut single ‘We Are All Going To Die’ to the world in February this year, their impact was immediate. It was a rallying cry, an urgent and insistent examination of mortality that instantly exploded through the rafters and shot for the sky. It was a track that united rock and indie fans and writers the world over, topping the Hype Machine as most blogged about band in the world, making Lamacq’s Livener on BBC 6 Music and cementing the band as ones to keep a very close eye on going forward.
However, along with the many plaudits that the debut EP ‘Distant Star’ received, one question usually followed; how do you follow-up a statement like that?
Where some see a hill to climb, others see the weight as a gift, and if there’s one thing Spielbergs are never short on it is ideas. Fast-forward to the winter, and the band are sharing ‘4AM’, the first single from their debut album ‘This Is Not The End’. With its strength in immediacy, boldness in simplicity, and trademark Spielbergs when-are-the-wheels-going-to-fall-off intensity, it’s a track that broadcasts their talent for melody and emotionally wrought song writing clearer than ever.
Listening to Spielbergs is like picking up that classic record that you and your friends bonded over as teenagers. They have that rare skill of finding a way to channel their own life story – through a thick wall of guitars and feedback – into something that makes you pine for the past, but gives you the strength to stare down your future.
As far as album introductions go, ‘4AM’ is a handshake that threatens to either turn into a hug, or tear your arm off completely. For Spielbergs, it’s a line they are happy to tread again and again.
Praise for Spielbergs
“‘We Are All Going To Die’ is the perfect introduction to the trio – with clattering rhythms and razor-sharp riffs combining for a devastating listen.” - NME
“Big, heart-on-sleeve guitar-rock with a go-for-broke anthemic intensity… “We Are All Going To Die” will have you either tearing up, punching the sky, or both.” – Stereogum
“An amazing band” – Dan P Carter, Radio 1
“Fans of fuzzy, propulsive cathartic jams, are about to have a new favourite band.” – Kerrang!
“Pummelling yet melodic guitars batter you round the heart with nary a pause for breath… Full of huge, lung-busting, shouting-into-the-wind vocals and relentless drums, guitars and everything else, cheerily-titled new single ‘We Are All Going To Die’ shows little concern for restraint.” - DIY
"We Are All Going To Die" is encased in a relentless soundscape of drums and guitars, owing its all-encompassing musicianship to shoegaze that is underpinned by a distinctly emo heart.” - The Line of Best Fit
“A roller coaster ride of rollicking riffs, descending and ascending with a luminous fury and friskiness, before delivering us back home again safe and sound, but breathless.” - 405
“An alt-rock banger, ‘We Are All Going To Die’ is a lot more fun than it sounds.” - Dork
“Guitars drill down at all angles, while the pummelling percussion sounds like a cement mixer trying to chew up a steel beam.” - CLASH
“It offers the kind of swaggering, punch-drunk escapism we used to spend all our time wishing for in our teenage years, while making it feel utterly achievable even now we’re much older and far more cynical.” – Gold Flake Paint
“Harnessing the sun-kissed escapism of road-trip-rock acts like Japandroids and Cloud Nothings, their pessimistic streak is cast aside be searing riffs and an urgency most lo-fi groups could do well to glean from.” - AnotherMan
“One of the most exciting bands of 2018.” – The i Paper
Album release: ‘This Is Not The End’ by Spielbergs Release date: 1 February 2019 Label: By The Time It Gets Dark More info: By The Time It Gets Dark website
Pre-order on CD / DL / coloured vinyl here.
UK headline tour for February 2019
Listen to '4AM' below.
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