Block To Block
Apollon, 2021
9/10
It’s been 40 years since Norway’s De Press released this debut album, and to celebrate the Apollon label is reissuing the classic and making it available on some limited colors of wax, too. An absolutely essential piece of the Norwegian underground rock scene from the early ‘80s, Block To Block has certainly stood the test of time, as all 14 songs sound like they could have been penned today.
“Kalhoz” starts the listen with a quick guitar line and thumping drums as deep vocals from front man Andrej Nebb guide the swift and busy brand of post-punk, and this formula continues to the dense and tense “Block To Block”, as well as the scrappy and propulsive “Dobi Steyshen”.
The middle tracks offer us the jagged and quirky “Velvet Waltz”, while “Peyshens” displays bouncy bass lines and jumpy piano amid New Wave nods that are as charming as they are timeless. “Bo Jo Cie Kochom”, one of the album’s best, then brings an anthemic and dance friendly setting to a lively rocker that even flirts with ska influences.
Approaching the end, the layered and soaring “On Top” is packed with melody and grit, and “Conveyor Belt” exits the listen brief but impactful as the band offer a multifaceted version of rock that’s quite daring for the time it was recorded.
For fans of New Wave, punk rock, alt-rock, indie-rock and even hard rock, it just doesn’t get much better than this. De Press would release one more album after this one before disbanding for a decade, and this pivotal piece of their catalog illustrates an adventurous band on the cusp of greatness