Interview with Pelicat: ‘A lot of our songs are about what you want people to be’

Oslo-based 70’s infused indie pop band, Pelicat, is working on a bouncy new album that will come out later this year.

Pelicat comprises Andreas Kase (vocals, guitar), Mads Johansen (drums), Mattias Krohn Nielsen (guitar) and Jonas Rohde-Moe (bass). Kase also sings in the band Divest. He and Rohde-Moe know each other from gigs where they’ve shared the stage. Their name is a combination of ‘pelican’ and ‘cat’: ‘We wanted to upload our music onto a Norwegian sound hub a few years ago and needed a name quickly,’ Rohde-Moe laughed. ‘We wanted ‘Pelican’ but there were already too many Pelicans and we had the idea of mixing the two words together!’

Just after the first lockdown kicked in last year, they released their mellow single, ‘The Other Side’: ‘It’s the first time we’ve all recorded out parts separately but we all knew how to record,’ Rohde-Moe said, ‘It was more exciting a year ago than it is now because it has become the new norm. To be honest, I didn’t like doing it much, I’d rather be with the guys.’

The track is about parting ways with someone on bad terms: ‘The lyrics often start with something specific and then turn into something broader. I wrote this one. I write most of the songs but the other guys have ideas that they bring, too.’

They released their self-titled debut album in January 2019, and followed up the album with the Tension Street EP in the autumn of the same year.

‘This song is about a perception of someone, about someone surprising you in a positive way’

‘Tell Me I’m Wrong’ on their debut album is one of their catchiest songs to date, with an addictively hooky chorus and an intro A, C# riff that grabs you from the off: ‘I bought a cheap electric guitar and that riff was the first thing I played on it. It was a bit of luck,’ Rohde-Moe laughed. ‘A lot of our songs are about what you want people to be. This song is about a perception of someone, about someone surprising you in a positive way.’

As the song kicks off: ‘I can feel your self esteem, you spread it all over my screen. I wish I knew how to ignore it. And if I ever got the chance to say what I really mean, this fling would soon be over.’

‘Down at the Arcade’, another track on their debut album, has huge echoes of George Harrison, with sweeping strings and a gentle, melancholic message. ‘These are Andreas’ lyrics. It’s about a friend whose mum works in the police and whose dad is a gambling addict. So the origins are based in reality. The melody is quite happy despite the message.’

The inherrent sadness weaves throughout the lyrics: ‘Come on let’s talk tonight while mama’s on patrol. She had to let you go and I’m about to do the same. Look at you now, you’re nothing that I hoped for, still I want you to be around.’

For Rohde-Moe, the fact that the various band members play several instruments and ‘mix them up all the time’ keeps their songs fresh: ‘I think we’re inspired by so many people like The Beatles, George Harrison and Harry Nilsson. I don’t think we sound too retro but I don’t think about it too much. Andreas has a great voice, which is why we wanted to start a band with him!’

The upcoming – as of yet unnamed album – will contain around 10 tracks. ‘We have enough songs but we need to mix them. We only have two hours every Thursday when we can meet. The theme for this album is our childhoods. One song has the working title ‘Fredrikstad’, it’s about my hometown (about an hour south of Oslo). We had docks we used to go to to drink and do graffiti!’

‘There’s a lot of support for the arts, especially niche genres’

We chat for a while about how diverse Norway’s music scene is and marvel at the sheer volume of new music coming out. ‘Politicians here promote culture a lot,’ Rohde-Moe said. ‘There’s a lot of support for the arts, especially niche genres. As a rock band, we can’t get a grant but niche bands can, which helps to develop and inspire people. It allows them to be more experimental.’

He’s a big fan of punchy Norwegian rock band Death by Unga Bunga, who are friends of theirs. ‘I also really like Divest, Andreas sings in that band, too. And girl in red is great, she’s become really popular. She’s in Oslo, too. The music scene here is quite big for a small city. In normal times, there are live shows every day.’ The Strokes were hugely inspirational to Kase, according to Rohde-Moe, who says that Oasis have influenced him a lot, whereas Johansen has been more influenced by skate punk.

Interestingly, Kase prefers to sing in English. ‘Andreas didn’t really listen to Norwegian music growing up, he listened to bands in English, so he prefers to sing in English,’ Rohde-Moe said. ‘But there are so many dialects in Norwegian that are just beautiful and now you hear more indie rock bands that sound great in Norwegian.’

If he could tour with anyone, he picks The Grateful Dead: ‘To tour with them in the 60’s, that whole era, the music. It would be wild – hopefully!’

(Photo from left to right: Mads, Jonas, Andreas and Mattias)