The Norwegian art rock scene has already produced a number of internationally renowned bands. Gazpacho and Airbag have been attracting attention for some time now; in 2017 Soup presented a brilliant work with their album "Remedies". Now the Oslo band Oak released their second album "False Memory Archive", which was just as masterly and yet of a completely different nature. Regarding their position in Norwegian art rock, the group states in a joint e-mail: "We are already noticing that the attention for this kind of music is growing and the number of bands is increasing. We know the guys from Airbag and some from Soup, so we are integrated into the scene. It would be nice if she could evolve. However, this is difficult here in Norway. We must rather try our luck outside."
Officially Oak consist of Simen Valldal Johannessen (vocals, keyboards), Øystein Sootholtet (bass, guitar) and Sigbjørn Reiakvam (drums). Guitarist Ole Michael Bjørndal (also tour guitarist for Airbag), who was still a permanent member of the band on the criminally ignored debut album "Lighthouse" (2013), is only on two songs on the new album. "Ole didn't really leave the band, he just took a break. Since we didn't know when he would return, we got Stephan Hvinden from the band Pymlico as another guitarist. One day Ole came to a concert from us, since then he is again on board. So now we have two guitarists."
The problem with the semivacant position on the six strings was solved by Oak in another way during the production of "False Memory Archive": On the one hand airbag guitarist and Gilmour fan Bjørn Riis also played on one track, but above all the keyboards, especially the piano, came to the fore. Together with the sophisticated, detailed arrangements and the expressive, flexible vocals, these belong to the special strengths of the album...
