Death By Unga Bunga is a five-piece Garage/Punk band from Moss, in Norway. It consists of Sebastian Ulstad Olsen on lead vocals and guitar, Preben S. Anderson on keyboards, Stian S. Gulbrandsen on guitar, Even Rolland Pettersen on bass, and Ole S. Nesset on drums. The band has released four albums in five years; however, Pineapple Pizza is the first to be available in the UK. It is out 04 March on Jansen Plateproduksjon, prior to a planned mega-touring schedule throughout 2016.

I like music with meat on the bones. It has to possess a raw energy, otherwise what’s the point? This CD grabbed my attention immediately because, like Green Day, these guys have stewed-up a boiling cauldron of Garage Rock, Punk, and catchy Power Pop – all with an upbeat, up-tempo energised vigour. Okay, they’re never going to be as popular as Green Day, but that bridging of genres will surely make them more accessible to the wider mainstream audiences. Having said that, you kind of want them to be a best kept secret and play regularly in claustrophobic up-close pubs and clubs.

Of course, being essentially a modern Punk band, they feel obliged to shock (or at least have a little dirty fun with) the masses. This is like a calling card for the genre. The name of the group undoubtedly relates to the infamous death by bunga joke. If you haven’t heard it, where have you been. Look it up, because I’m not relaying it here. The Pineapple Pizza cover shows the backside of a woman with a pineapple partly inserted. Whatever you may think about this, it shouldn’t detract from the music, which is pretty damn fine.

'Dollar Slice', the first track, is reminiscent of a 1960s TV piece. You can well imagine it being used as incidental music in the original Thunderbirds. This acts as an introduction to the album proper, the second track, 'I Can’t Believe That We’re Together'. There are twelve tracks in all, and it all gallops along with so much fun and energy that it almost seems to be over in an instant. I played it through at least three times in the car. It became very familiar very quickly. You could tire of the songs easily this way, but judging by the quick turn-out of produce, it would be worth trying to trace the earlier albums from Norway.

8

Ty Power