Music Review - Uk Music Review Home

Riding a wave of dirty fuzzed up guitar riffs LOCOMOTIVE sets up what essentially Cadillac do best - and that's rough edged and scruffy rock with more bite than Dracula and more balls than Wimbledon. Sounding at times like a violent exchange between Queens Of The Stone Age and Interpol, Cadillac write dark pop songs welded to noisy guitar assaults, something a song like GALAXY OF NOBODIES attests to with its melodic central core surrounded by flailing guitar strikes and the odd burst of cascading piano flourishes, while special mention should also go out to their drummer - someone who bashes those skins with a blend of power and precision that conjures up images of Animal from The Muppets on a speed induced high.

The slower and more considered GOLDRUSH MOURNING holds back on those Sabbath-esque riffs, instead driven by bombastic guitar chords and a steadily building rhythm section, Per Borten snarling about warming guns and pulling wires from the ground with a dark menace and icy cool.
TOP OF MY GUARANTIES is a sneering explosion of punk rock attitude that pisses from a great height on much of what passes for punk these days, an aggressive ball of pent up anger that explodes like The Stooges wrestling Black Flag on a particularly bad day while Alec Empire sits at the production desk.
As if The Mars Volta where told they had to sit down and write a three minute pop song, (THROUGH AND) BEYOND ALL sounds much as if it could have been the result - a blend of staccato guitar riffs, intricate musical passages, shifting drum patterns, changing time signatures and more ideas in one song than many bands manage to include on entire albums.
While this is an album that has its fair share of snarling rock menace, its also a record that finds more than enough time to drop in a few towering slices of pop majesty too. THE SAINT does that epic rock thing with all the grandeur and majesty you could ever hope for, while ARABIAN NIGHTS is a cover of a Siouxsie And The Banshees songs and sounds like Echo And The Bunnymen at their eighties prime. Its on SIDE BY SIDE though that Cadillac really shine at their brightest, an infectious slice of atmospheric rock that manages to put Interpol, The Strokes and Queens Of The Stone Age into one giant blender and come out the other end as a skyscraping pop tune that should be this bands ticket to breakthrough success.

At times rough edged and angry and at others darkly cool and focused, Cadillac are a band that are never without total conviction and attitude.
MAGNETIC CITY is an album that highlights what an exciting prospect they are, a record brimming with confidence, ideas and passion and never putting a foot wrong - expect Cadillac to be making giant Godzilla sized waves in the very near future.

Cadillac release their new album Magnetic City this summer. These Norweigan rockers fuse the fuzzy bass guitars of Queens Of The Stone Age with the drive and aggression of At The Drive In.
The band have already released a string of successful and well regarded EP's at home, scaling the Norweigan Singles chart several times, and entering the Top 10. They've been voted Best Live Act twice by Norweigan music monthly Natt & Nag, and were nominated for Song of the Year at the ALARM awards.
They've now set their sites on the UK, and early indications are good. This month Top Of My Guaranties has picked up multiple plays from Zane Lowe on his BBC Radio 1 show, and others look set to follow.
The album, Magnetic City was recorded last summer at Carriage House Studios, in Connecticut, USA. It's produced by Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, and engineered by Chris Ribando.
During their time in the States, the band took a break from recording to play 2 shows; one at the Mercury Lounge in New York and the other at The Viper Rooms in Hollywood. Footage appears on one of the 2 videos that accompanies the record, Galaxy Of Nobodies (the other video is for
forthcoming single Locomotive).
Magnetic City is a full throttle ride of post punk rock laden down with dirty riffs. Cadillac intend to bring their rock action to the UK this summer.

1999
Per Borten (guitar/vocal), Sveinar Hoff (drums) and Trond Frönes (bass) form the Per Borten Trio. Amongst their earliest gigs are the Eat The Rich Festival in Trondheim, and two hours before they go on stage they switch their name to CADILLAC .
In September it takes them two days to record their first demo at Brygga Studio. The 5 demo tracks (including what will later become the album tracks "Cure", "The Show" and "Girl") are released in December on their own label Conductor, and the band immediately gets strong interest from Progress Records.

2000
In January, Progress Records is bought by MNW and at the same time signs a record deal with Cadillac. The band starts to record their debut album "Cure" at Athletic Studios in June with Trude Midtgaard producing. The recordings aren't finalized until December, but in September the EP "Two Times More"is released. It reaches the Norwegian singles chart at an impressive # 14. The band continuously tours Norway.

2001
The debut album "Cure" is mixed by Stefan Glaumann at MVG Studio in Stockholm in January. In February the song "Two Times More" is nominated best song of year by the Norwegian music award Alarm and they are awarded Best Live Act of the Year by Natt & Dag (Norways largest monthly magazine). A new EP , "The Show", is released in February and reaches # 8 in the Norwegian singles chart. The album "Cure" is released the following month and receives fantastic reviews. During the summer Cadillac plays all major festivals in Norway (such as Quart and Öya) and embarks on a tour in Denmark in the fall. 2001 also sees the launch of their website: www.cadillacweb.com.

2002
The year starts with another award, Best Live Act from Natt & Dag, and the band starts recording their second album. This time they decide to record at Brygga Studios in Trondheim, with most of the mixing done at Athletic Studios in Halden, Norway. A new EP "Convertible Candy" is released in June and climbs the charts to # 11. The track "My Convertible Candy" also gets strong airplay. It is Cadillac's most commercial release so far with a stronger melodic sense than their earlier releases. A European tour is set up for the release of their second album "Up For A Lifetime".

2003
Cadillac tour Scandinavia, Holland and Germany, playing the Eurosonic festival among others. They also visit the USA, playing at the SXSW in Austin, Texas. But in 2003 drummer Sveinar Hoff leaves the band and new drummer Ole Thomas Kohlberg joins, and the band decide to add an extra guitarist, Hans Petter Frönes. The new line up immediately starts to work on new material and the new blood gives Cadillac new energetic input. The last half of 2003 is spent working on and writing new material.

2004
Cadillac signs with the new label Kong Tiki Records. A new preproduction is made for the new album Magnetic City, to be released in September. Cadillac records the album in May and June at The Carriage House Studios in the US, produced by Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, and engineered by Chris Ribando. During the recording the band play two gigs in the USA, one at the Mercury Lounge in New York and another at The Viper Room in Hollywood.

   :: Line Up :: Discography :: Merchandise :: Further Listening :: Web Links ::