Release date: 09.09.2022
Credits:
Insomniac Bears:
Marius Ergo: Bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, vocals
Magnus Gommerud Nielsen: Synthesizers, violins, bass, electric guitars, vocals
Marius Drogsås Hagen: Electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, vocals
Axel Skalstad: Drums, percussion, synthesizers, saw, vocals
Thomas Bratlie Haugland: Vocals & percussion
Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs: Vocals on "Come up close"
Karl Hjalmar Nyberg: Saxophone on "Paper Crown"
Written, arranged and performed by Insomniac Bears
Produced and recorded at Ørevox by Marius Ergo
Drums recorded at Taakeheimen by Morten Øby
Additional recordings at Artilleriverkstedet lydstudio in Horten and Gymmen studios in Nordfjordeid
Mixed and mastered by Javed Kurd
"Break up the shapes" mixed by Nick Terry
Cover artwork by Tomas Del Balso
Design and art direction by Fredrik Melby
Photos by Anne Valeur
We are proud to present a great debut album from Norwegian art rockers Insomniac Bears. On ”Newfound sprawl” the group`s edge bares signs of elegant vulnerability in their most expressive songwriting and expansive production yet. The album`s intimate origins - days on end spent in the studio during a pandemic winter - are reflected in its exploratory flourishes and heavy experiments. There are weightless falsettos, restless guitar solos, and refrains that crash like tidal waves. Insomniac Bears never sacrifice a perfect pop hook for the sake of eccentricity. To ”go big” is the new punk, as they say when describing their new work.
The new album extends the voice of Insomniac Bears, only with a more hungry approach that shows a dynamic group drawing on each other's respective pasts, but also on the new energy they discovered playing together. Their wide embrace of genre could feel like a tasty mash-up or a prosperous mix of indie styles. Yet with their distinctive and confident voice, it allows them to swoop through soundscapes light as air. With playful post harmonic vocal hooks and a distinctive nerve they will steal your heart with nostalgic synthesizers, fiery guitars and explosive drums. The album features amazing guest appearances from dark wave queen Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs(Bow to Each Other/Susanne Sundfør) and rising star saxophonist Karl Hjalmar Nyberg. New steps are also taken in the mix and master department, which is gorgeously put together by master mind Javed Kurd.
Insomniac Bears or «Bjønna» as they call the group internally create a complex soundscape where the instrumentation repels each other with each element blooming and reducing like blobs of oil in water. The group venerates friendship, and on ”Newfound Sprawl” they lighten up and dig deeper. Their debut album is like a mixtape of ideas to inspire, enable and energize creativity and positivity in a time of uncertainty. At its best it feels limitless.