...::: HIAWATA! is an indiepop band from Oslo, Norway. The band members are Tore "little prince" Løchstøer Hauge - Voice. Johan Rogge Loennecken - Guitar. Are Volmert Sørensen - Drums. Einar 'Nomber 5' Stubhaug - Bass. Håkon Hagen - Guitar. They have released 3 rocking cd's. In 2007 they presented their debutalbum "They Could Have Been Bigger Than Hiawata!" with 8 smashing tracks.
The They Could Have Been Bigger Than Hiawata! tracklist:
1. Bunny
2. Dylan McKay
3. Shining Spinning
4. Something For The Ladies (In Us)
5. NYT
6. Handsome Boys Make Pretty Graves
7. Tigerqueen
8. Boys Says / Girls Says
Here are some of the heartwarming reviews:
NME: 'Indie pop from Oslo, Norway, Hiawata remind me of cutie pop stalwarts Comet Gain, or Belle & Sebastian playing Nirvana songs. Totally tweemo!'
RadioNova: (Norwegian) ''Indianerne kommer fra norske forstadene, men klarer å høres ut som det beste som finnes av indiepop på den amerikanske vestkysten, med et litt mindre glatt lydbilde som vi er vant til. Bandet hever at de kunne vært mye mer enn de er, for debutalbumet som slippes 26. mars 2007 fikk navnet 'They Could've Been Bigger Than Hiawata!' Vi liker hiawata! akkurat som de er: leverandører av ærlig popmusikk som postmannen kan plystre til. Og det er jo minst like viktig i et land hvor postmannen må grave seg en vei gjennom en meter snø...'
One year after, in 2008, they released the EP, "Blacks On Blondes", consisting of 5 tracks. This, like their debut album, received a warm welcome, just like their debut album.
The Blacks On Blondes tracklist:
1. Animal
2. Good Looks
3. Fightz
4. Mice & Men
5. Shake It Off
Here's a review from IT'S A TRAP, the scandinavian music journal. : "7/10. This light, energetic release from Hiawata! is nothing if not fun and to the point. Layered harmonies and a love of percussion are noticeable throughout, and the whole thing is over sooner than expected. The premature ending is a shame too, as the songs sparkle with personality and humor. Kicking off with the gentle and energetic "Love you like an animal", the "Blacks on blondes" EP plays darker lyrical themes with dismissive, upbeat sounds. With convincing vocals and a bluesy rock feel, it could form the basis of a soundtrack to a coming-of-age surf movie set in the 80s. "Shake it off" is the final and stand-out track of this entirely too-short EP, leaving you wondering what else these boys could do if they were only given the chance" By RHIANNON ELSTON
This year, 2009, the boys from hiawata! presents the album These Boys And This Band Is All I Know.. which I enthusiastically recommend. Their first single from the album is VALLEY BOYS, which have been playing frequently on the radio lately. This smash-hit can be downloaded exclusively from gone-surfing.com, and we know you'll love it. The album is made up of 10 solid tracks, which will have you nodding your head like a pez dispenser in no time!
The These Boys And This Band Is All I Know (2009) tracklist:
1. Valley Boys
2. That's The Spirit
3. Suburbs
4. Put Me Down
5. Labrador
6. These Boys And This Band Is All I Know
7. White Men, Black Heart
8. Chocolate For Breakfast
9. Lightning On The Sun
10. Animal
Gone-Surfing (Alex): "So guys, what's your experience with surfing? Are you going out Kelly Slater Style?" hiawata! (Tore): "Well, Einar (Bass) isn't totally unknown to surfing. He's an old school skater, and he lives with this surfer/researcher/skater named Jon.. I remember once when they tried surfing an "artificial wave" in Akerselva.. they tie a rope around Jon, while the other guys were holding onto it. Some nice blisters.. That should give some kudos in the surfworld, right?" Definitely, thats actually quite spectacular. "By being presented on your site, we have now touched on most boardsports. We have previously had songs on the soundtracks of skate-, snowkite-, and snowboardmovies. It almost feels like a circle is complete! ;) We love the ocean, waves, pretty girls and beer, even though we're not the greatest surfers ourselves. And that can't be too bad, right?" Haha! No, not bad at all.. you got all the four elements of surfing right there.. ;) so I would definitely give you surfkudos for that.
HIAWATA! has got a bright musical career ahead of them, and we simply can't wait to hear more. Keep surfing the musical waves fellas, you'll go far.
