The Norwegian tentet Torg celebrates the change of season with a new EP, «Vår» (spring in Norwegian), featuring three compositions by pianist Johan Lindvall. «Vår» is already the third release by Torg, a group that assembles some of the most promising musicians of the Oslo Scene.

«Vår» deepens the eclectic aesthetics of the Torg collective and offers a fresh and breezy mix of melodic hooks, Atmospheric soundscapes, danceable beats, subtle layers of jazz, and pop, delicate electronics, and some bossa nova to spice it all. These sonic pastiches intend to activate the listener’s imagination a bit more than the usual, and let the listener swing gently forward and backward in time.

The first piece «Ström» revolves around a rhythmic pattern layered by the electric bass players Adrian Myhr and Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard. Slowly this piece enriches its rhythmic core with more colors and shades added to its intoxicating pulse, ranging from the celestial, wordless vocals of Ina Sagstuen to the thorny-distorted electric guitar of Christian Skår Winther (both play together as the duo Listen to Girl) or the jazz trumpet of Torstein Lavik Larsen. The title-piece follows a repetitive guitar line of Skår Winther, sketching large and open landscapes, soon turning into a lyrical pop song with the vocals of Sagstuen, later colored by the vintage synth of Anja Lauvdal.  The third and last piece «Löftet» is based again on a strong, danceable rhythmic pulse created by Myhr, Skavhaug Nergaard, and drummer Jan Martin Gismervik, intensified by the processed vocals of Sagstuen, who sings an optimist, shiny text as if we all can now relax a bit and forget the last months of forced lockdown.

Eyal Hareuveni 

Johan Lindvall (p), Adrian Myhr (b), Ina Sagstuen (v), Christian Skår Winther (g), Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard (b, elec), Torstein Lavik Larsen (tp), Anja Lauvdal (synth), Jan Martin Gismervik (dr)