Explosive from the outset, the band let their intentions known on opening track “Burning House Bedding”. Intense and cohesive instrumentals play question and answer with frontman Gustav Berntsen’s exasperated vocals, chopping, changing, and creating a wonderfully disjointed atmosphere from their unconventional set-up, which includes a tenor saxophone, piano and viola. 

From lead single “(Hookers With) Hidden Depths”, with its infectious bass line and sax hook that sounds like a twisted soundtrack to a 40s Noir film set in a smoky New York jazz café, through to “When Come The Rats”, a menacing and heavy eruption of beats and riffs, the album is a 13-track collection of fascinating explorations into melody and rhythm that defy the norm. 

The record’s lyrical themes match its instrumental ferocity, based around the frustrations and joys of relationships and modern living: 

“Spit and Image revolves around dirty deeds and wishful thinking of adolescence” explains Gustav. “I think it contains some quite dramatic characters, some in and out of love, some of privilege, lacking integrity, some on the edge of moral decline appearing as depraved monsters overwhelmed by debauchery; some insecure about their skin, some learning about intimacy and trust, to love and respect by the guiding hand of a patient partner. Some are frustrated with the current state of our world making sail for a better place, leaving their peers behind. They hold their breath collectively, while some dance with rapture.”