Firetop Mountain [Album out June 8]

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In just two years, the members of Firetop Mountain have gone from jam sessions in a moldy, coffee-stained basement to the top of concert bills in some of Oslo’s hippest locales. Now, with the imminent release of their debut album, Indians Aren’t Afraid of Heights, the group has established itself as a legitimate rock and roll act.
Though they list Death Cab For Cutie, Radiohead, The Lemonheads and The Cure among the groups that have influenced them, Firetop Mountain are true originals. Their sound is an infectiously melodic combination of resonant guitars, frenetic percussion and arresting harmonies, punctuated by lyrics that are at once dreamy and emotionally haunting. Romanticized surrealism that you can dance to, one might call it.
The group originated in 2006, when vocalist/guitarist Michael Stensen Sollien and drummer Ola Helland-Pedersen, members of Oslo act Featherstone, parted ways with their band mates. Firetop Mountain began to take shape when Michael’s younger brother Kim Stensen Sollien signed on as lead guitarist, followed by the addition of Anne Mette Haardnes at piano. Their original bassist, Jon Øyvind Nordby, left the group in the summer of 2008 to form Valsalva; the band’s current bassist is Nils Roland Lier, who has been with the group since autumn 2008. Not long after Sollien and Pedersen’s 2007 departure, Featherstone called it quits, and the remaining members formed another group, Teddy’s Toasted; both bands are good friends to this day.
Firetop Mountain played their first live show in June, 2007, to a crowd of about 100 at Oslo’s Club Maiden. Though the venue was traditionally known for hard rock shows, Firetop’s significantly more mellow set was enthusiastically received, and the positive buzz was instantaneous. A common reaction among audience members was “this is not pop; this is rock and roll,” much to the group’s satisfaction, as this was an ideal they had labored over during rehearsals. They began to acquire a modest following, which has grown into a large, faithful fan-base and a string of successful shows in some of Oslo’s hippest locales. Some of the bands Firetop Mountain have shared billing with include Sigh & Explode, The Vineyards and Charlotte & The Co-Stars.
For their first album, Firetop Mountain enlisted in Ørnulv Brun Snortheim, a Hamar-based producer and former member of Erik Faber, Haddy N’Jie and a few good men, a well-known Norwegian rock act. The group recorded all of the album’s 12 tracks at Pipelyd Studio, in Central Oslo, during the winter and spring of 2008. More than a year later, on June 8th, Indians Aren’t Afraid of Heights will be released to the public, courtesy of both Indie Distribution and their own label, Mother Likes It Records.
The record is an ethereal blend of lively dance hall jams (‘How Can You Dance At A Time Like This?’, ‘Fatal’) and introspective ballads (‘Soul Renovation,’ ‘I Don’t Want You To Leave’), all of which showcase the group’s striking collective ability. Indians is a truly impressive debut offering, ensuring that Firetop Mountain are definitely talented and prolific enough to stand alongside their finest contemporaries in today’s alternative scene.
Brad Nehring, 2009
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