Lukestar

Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Lukestar – a.k.a. Truls Heggero, Yngve Hilmo, Marius Ergo, and Jørgen Smådal Larsen– have already managed to create quite a name for themselves (that’s slightly easier to pronounce). During 2008, Lukestar will have released their new album ”Lake Toba” in an impressive collection of territories throughout our little planet; UK, US, Benelux, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Japan, Malaysia, Denmark and Sweden.

Growing up in the far outskirts of Oslo with the wilderness as their nearest neighbor, Truls and the gang started making songs inspired by 80s pop music and Queen. Turning teenagers in the early 90s, the band got swept up by the Nevermind-revolution, as a great deal of their generation did. This led to the fascination that Lukestar still has for 3-chord pop-songs covered in energetic guitars and melodies provoking waves of spine-chills. Since then, Lukestar’s sound has evolved, with guitars, drums, bass & keyboards creating a dynamic universe surrounding the otherworldly falsetto of lead singer Truls´ magnetic voice, which comes to him naturally and quite unexpectedly.
For every moment of super-accessible pop they have created, there is an equal span of aggressive math-rock. For every lyric that could have been torn from the pages of a book on ancient mythology, there is another that seems just as suited for pop radio.

Lukestar have enjoyed a combined 26 weeks of airplay on Norwegian national radio between the first two singles off Lake Toba ("White Shade" and "The Shade You Hide") and, in the eight months since its release in their homeland, Lake Toba has sold more than 4,500 copies (keeping in mind that 15,000 sales in their country is their equivalent of a gold record). Pitchfork caught on early, giving the album a 7.0 review and calling it, "a solid collection of pulsing indie-rock songs with half-shouted hooks and guitars unwinding like fractal art." NME.com have also come on as big supporters, featuring the album on their site.