The similarities are too good to pass up: “Norman Bleik,” the title of the first single from I Was a King’s self titled release, and Norman Blake, the guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for Scottish band, Teenage Fanclub. “Norman Bleik,” as the Norwegians spell it, sounds an awful lot like a song Norman Blake could have written around the time of Bandwagonesque, Teenage Fanclub’s landmark pop album, the one which so fanously topped Nirvana’s Nevermind as Spin’s album of the year in 1991. You can hear multiple guitars, sometimes in unison, more often fuzzed and buzzing in their own direction. You can hear the same, light and airy vocals, providing a counter to the guitar melody. And there’s a blazing solo, albeit a quick one, as these Norwegians like to keep things brief — often under the two-and-a-half minute mark. Needless to say, if you’ve heard the work of one Norman Blake, you’ll be a fan of this “Norman Bleik,” too.
MP3: I Was a King – Norman Bleik
I Was a King’s self-titled release is out now on The Control Group. The band will be in Cleveland next Wednesday, May 27th at The Beachland Tavern with The Dreadful Yawns and Kong Sauce.
