Norway's Serena-Maneesh New Abyss in B Minor: Play SXSW, NA To

Norway's Serena-Manesh will release their anticipated 2nd LP (and first on 4AD) entitled, Serena-Manesh 2: Abyss in B Minor, followed by a few dates at SXSW and a North American tour.

Serena-Maneesh Recording of Abyss in B Minor

Serena-Maneesh began recording the album in 2008 in, literally, a cave in Oslo, Norway. Over the next year and a half, they carefully crafted an 8-song, 39-minute wall of sound that will indeed get you tapping, and starring at, your feet.

The album begins with the 8 minute epic “Ayisha Abyss,” a psychedelic bass-propelled dance number, but quickly changes pace with the album’s first single, “I Just Want To See Your Face.” The song is a 3 minute electro-pop zinger with a dark and twisted undertone, sure to be on your iPod if it hasn’t found its way there already.

“Melody For Jaana” is an introspective 6-minute synth melody combined with an acoustic guitar. It is hypnotic and owes a lot to the band’s “shoegaze” predecessors.

Much of the second side consists of dancy, electro pop numbers fusing tempo drum beats, synth and an array of guitar sounds until the final song, “Magdalena (Symphony #8),” a complex arrangement of acoustic guitar, flute and a bongo drum beat with a dreamy female vocal track.

Each of the 8 songs was mixed for 8 days and was mastered at Air Studios by Ray Staff, who did the same for, among many others, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti.

Serena-Maneesh Band History

Serena-Maneesh released its first LP in 2005, which was well received by some of the most respected critics on both sides of the Atlantic, including Pitchfork and Drowned In Sound.

The Serena-Maneesh sound is precisely crafted and a cross between bands like My Bloody Valentine and Primal Scream, black metal, and Norwegian composers like Grieg.

S-M’s Post SXSW American Tour Schedule

3/22: Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
3/23: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
3/25: Portland, OR @ Berbati's Pan
3/26: Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
3/27: Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
3/30: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
3/31: Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
4/1: Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
4/2: Toronto, ON @ Opera House
4/3: Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
4/4: Cambridge, MA @ TT THe Bears
4/5: Milford, CT @ Daniel Street
4/6: Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
4/7: Washington, DC @ DC9
4/8: New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

Published by Now Public