NYTT ALBUM 31. JANUAR: MATTERS OF LOVE AND NATURE

Endelig er The Lionheart Brothers her med et nytt album. Fire år etter storsuksessen Dizzy Kiss kommer Matters of Love and Nature, resultatet av et band i eksistensiell krise. For å komme ut av den har løvebrødrene beholdt Brian Wilson, men discokulen måtte byttes ut med lasersverd.

Deres forrige utgivelse, og ikke minst låten “50 Souls And A Discobowl”, ble møtt med jubel både her hjemme og i Storbritannia. Bandet ble kastet ut på en to års lang promo- og turnéferd i Skandinavia og England, forventningene var høye, tempoet enda høyere. Så ble det stille. “Musikkilden var tom, og den musikalske depresjonen kom krypende,” forteller bandet.

Trommeslager Peter Rudolfsen bestemte seg for å legge inn stikkene til fordel for familie. Originalmedlem Fred Gerhard Strand tok over. Samtidig dukket Lionheart-medlemmer opp i andre band og på andre scener; Jaga Jazzist, I Was A King, Serena-Maneesh, Pirate Love, The Turns, Syndrom og Black Soul Circus. Bandmedlemmene stod med en fot på turné og den andre i sitt eget øvingsrom. Mellom øktene trengte spørsmålene seg frem. For hvem, for hva? De kom til et veiskille, de måtte ta et valg: “Enten legger vi opp, eller så går vi i studio og spiller inn det vi har. Etter det begynner vi med blanke ark.” To ukers studiotid ble satt av. Det skulle ta ni måneder før Matters of Love and Nature stod ferdig.

I studioet fant de tilbake til gnisten som en gang førte dem sammen. Spenningen i bandet som ingen tok tak i, konfliktene som lå der uforløst, ble til lyden av skarpe dissonanser, dødbringende trommer, skjærende gitarer, bedende tekstlinjer. Dyrisk stahet og teologisk tålmodighet har sendt The Lionheart Brothers enda dypere inn i Nangijalas rike. Denne gangen nærmere Katlas hule.

Matters of Love and Nature slippes den 31. januar på Racing Junior

Om The Lionheart Brothers: The Lionheart Brothers ble grunnlagt i 1998 av Marcus Forsgren og Fred Gerhard Strand i Klæbu utenfor Trondheim. Bandet består i dag av Marcus Forsgren, Morten Øby, Audun Storset, Frantz Jørgen Andreassen og Fred Gerhard Strand. I 2007 gav bandet ut albumet Dizzy Kiss til gode anmeldelser og en nasjonal hype. Låten ”50 Souls And A Discobowl” var den tredje mest spilte låten på P3. Bandet har tidligere gitt ut albumet White Angel Black Apple og EP’en Colour Contrast Context.

For intervjuavtaler, spørsmål, bilder eller ytterligere informasjon, kontakt: Atle Bøckmann, 91538717, atle@indianer.nu / Glenn Larsen, 95036062, glenn@indianer.nu

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Lionheart Brothers
"Dizzy Kiss"

(RJCD037)

Release January 22nd 2007
Download pressphotos/cover art and newsletters

The Lionheart Brothers Announce May UK Tour Dates

The Lionheart Brothers are pleased to announce details of a new set of UK dates this May and their UK summer festival appearances.

The Norwegian dream-rockers will head out with The Mae Shi and Johnny Foreigner for a set of Drowned In Sound sponsored dates this Spring. They also play two shows at this year's Great Escape Festival in Brighton, and a spate of summer festivals.

The Lionheart Brothers release a new single in UK, ‘Hero Anthem’ on the 14th July through Racing Junior.

The band play:

06 May – Cambridge Graduate (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
07 May – York Fibbers (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
08 May – Aberdeen Moshulu (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
09 May – Glasgow Barfly (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
10 May – Liverpool Barfly (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
12 May – Birmingham Barfly (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
13 May – London Kings College (Drowned In Sound Presents...)
14 May – Bristol Louisiana (Headline Show)
15 May – Brighton Ocean Rooms (The Great Escape)
16 May – Brighton Old Market (The Great Escape)
07 Jun – Rock Ness Festival, Scotland
08 Aug – Summer Sundae, Leicester
09 Aug – Proud Gallery, London
10 Aug – Bloom Festival, Bristol
30 Aug – Electric Picnic, Ireland
31 Aug – Electric Picnic, Ireland

Latest news (posted 16 Jan 08):

Spellemannominerte The Lionheart Brothers slipper album i UK

Mandag 14.januar ble det nominerte albumet Dizzy Kiss (Racing Junior/Shellshock)sluppet i England, og følges opp av bandet med en ukes turnè i England.

Turnèen bringer de bla til Koko fredag 18.januar, hvor NME-magasinet har invitert bandet til å spille på sin årlige "Hot tip for 2008"-konsert. NME har allerede hypet The Lionheart Brothers som bandet "Everybody is talking about" - og de er ikke alene i britisk media om å trykke bandet til sine hjerter:

The Times - "astonishingly good"
Sunday Times - Album of The Week (13.1) "A band you could easily fall in love with"
Q - "just the thing to get you through the British winter and transport you into the summer months"
NME "Motorik beats, fuzz bass and carzy feedback-laced jams.... mind-blowing"
The Word - "Gorgeous psychedelic pop"
Time Out - "Lovely !!!"
Clash Magazine - "Genuinely mind-blowing"
The Fly - "If this is future music, it certainly is bright"
The Guardian - 4/5 "Steep-gradient dreampop and lo-fi loveliness. The Bridge between Camden and California."
Music Week - "A dream swirling affair,.... A new favorite band"
Uncut - "Trondheim pop Masterclass"
Hotpress - "Single of the fortnight"
Metro - "Mane men of nordic music "likely to earn hero's welcomes"
Rough Trade stores - "Album of the week"

The Lionheart Brithers UK tour Januar 2007
12.1 Wakefield - Escobar
14.1 London - The Social
15.1 Liverpool - Korova
16.1 London - 229 club
16.1 BBC session - Steve Lamacq
17.1 Bath - Moles
18.1 London - KOKO (NME Club night, Hot tip for 2008)
19.1 Nothingham - Bodega Social

Etterspørselen etter de norske løvehjertene sender de tilbake til England allerede i mars, for en ny turne-runde og for å spille live på flere av de største og viktigste engelske radio-stasjoene:

Tues 25th March - BBC Radio 2 - Radcliffe and Maconie Session
Thurs 27th March - XFM - John Kennedy Session
Sat 29th March - BBC Radio 4 - Loose Ends
Wed 2nd April - BBC 6Music - Marc Riley Session

Det siste året har The Lionheart Brothers tilbrakt tiden sin på spille showcaser og presentere singlen i England - og innsatsen har gitt resultater. Etter 7" debuten på det britiske platemarkedet med "Hero Anthem" (Racing Junior/Rough Trade) fikk bandet spillejobber bla på Lattitude festivalen (m/ Arcade Fire) og det engelske bransje-treffet The Great Escape.

Singelen "50 Souls And A Discobowl" har vært ukas single på BBC Radio og bandet følges tett av de viktige radio DJ'ene Steve Lamacq, Rob Da Bank, John Kennedy er alle fans. Videoen til låta er playlista på MTV2.

Lionheart Brothers nominated for Single Of The Week on BBC Radio 2! Help us with voting:
Write this: "My favourite: The Lionheart Brothers", and send it to radcliffe.maconie@bbc.co.uk

The Lionheart Brothers have already received excellent press and radio coverage in the UK for their limited edition singles ‘Hero Anthem’ and ‘50 Souls and a Discobowl’. And the buzz is building to the highly anticipated ‘Dizzy Kiss’ release over there… After a live XFM Session with John Kennedy, the Brothers are visiting Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music as his ‘New Favourite Band’ in January.

In the words of the Britons..?

“Steep-gradient dreampop and lo-fi loveliness. The bridge between Camden and California.” – The Guardian

“Motorik beats, fuzz bass and crazy feedback-laced jams… mind-blowing” – NME

“Gorgeous psychedelic pop” – The Word Magazine

“One of the finest marriages of sixties American psych pop and shoe-gazing indie yet recorded” – The Stool Pigeon

“Lovely!” – Time Out

“A dreamy, swirling affair...a new favourite band” – Music Week

“Beach Boys harmony pop sounds suffused with the insistent druggy-drone of The Flaming Lips.” – Drowned In Sound

Upcoming shows:

Norway/UK:

Dec 01 // Blå, Oslo
Dec 29 // Last Train, Oslo
Jan 14 // The Social, London
Jan 18 // Koko Club NME, London

Reviews (in Norwegian):

6/6 Adresseavisa "svimlende bra"
6/6 Rogalands Avis "vi som ventet intenst på noe godt har fått litt mer enn vi forventet"
6/6 Sarspsborg Arbeiderblad ”avansert, rytmisk og tøff”
5/6 VG "løvehjertelig velkomne skal de være"
5/6 Dagbladet "utført med hjertebankende kjærlighet til musikken"
5/6 Stavanger Aftenblad
5/6 Fædrelandsvennen
5/6 Avisa Nordland
5/6 Varden
5/6 Hamar Arbeiderblad
5/6 Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen
5/6 Moss Avis
5/6 Østlendingen
7/7 Groove
"Guddommelig" Universitas

Biography:

The Lionheart Brothers are the proud new torchbearers of Brian Wilsons magnificent pop vision. Their playful elegance, enigmatic stage presence and charismatic bravado has comfortably secured the bands live reputation in Norway. The album Dizzy Kiss is a passionate musical adventure through psycadelic landscapes carried forth by lush and sophisticated melodies that will haunt you for a long time.

The fact that the world is teeming with oppositions is blatantly obvious. Sometimes these oppositions cancel each other out in mutual annihilation. Than again sometimes, they exalt each other and accentuate their respective magic and unique natures.

Imagine that The Lionheart Brothers are a plant. The roots delve into the ground, while the petals reach for the sky. The roots are firmly thrust into the carnal nature of punk while the petals yearn for the grandeous and heavenly pop. It was upon this foundation that Audun Storset and Marcus Forsgren decided to explore the great and slight mysteries of music when they met and created their musical vision. Every nook and cranny of the reality of playing music was to be tested- the Norwegian tendency of moderation and narrow-mindedness was to be challenged. Today this still is much of the focus for the Brothers - limits are supposed to be pushed, but in the end it is all about creating magical music.

The EP Colour Contrast Context was released in 2004, on Norwegian label ChewinPine Records. The reviews were formidable this time around too, and it was listed among the best releases of the year in several musical media. By this time Audun and Marcus were the only regular members of The Lionheart Brothers, but had decided to recruit two more members. Finally, they were to become a complete band! Frantz Andreassen and Peter Rudolfsen have become integral parts of the unit that the band has developed into. The four toured virtually every odd end of Norway in connection with the release of Colour Contrast Context in the autumn of 2004.

The 22nd of January 2007 they will release their second album, and it will be nothing short of stunning! They promise you that the arsenal of sounds, melodies and harmonies are even bigger, more improved and it will be earcandy for every pop loving ambitious minded music lover!

Visit Lionheart Brothers Myspace site