EP REVIEW: Moon People – Kal-El

The city of Stavanger sits on the South West coast of Norway battered by the Atlantic and bitten by harsh winters. It is also home to the space loving, fuzzed-out riff machine KAL-EL. After their breakout album Dark Majesty came out in 2021, the Norwegian quintet have ruthlessly toured and released a live album (Live at Sonic Whip 2022) in the process. Now they’re back with two fuzz-laden, anthemic, riff-fuelled stoner ragers to satiate your appetite whilst they get to work writing a new album. 

Despite being forged in the harsh Norwegian winter, the Moon People EP has an uplifting and summery vibe to it. Made up of two richly-layered, heavy and grooving tracks (Moon People and Universe), the EP feels like a more chilled out continuation of Dark Majesty. It contains the band’s signature trademark of heavy as hell fuzz riffs and thick, overdriven atmospheres, yet KAL-EL make a concerted effort to incorporate anthemic melodies that have a feel good vibe. 

As a result, the EP is wonderfully mesmeric and uplifting, as KAL-EL imbue each track with the earthy magic of the jam room, with each band member working in effortless synchrony with one another – something that can only be achieved by a band all in the same room feeding off of one another’s energy. As a consequence of this, both tracks naturally evolve at their own pace, organically developing their grooves and melodies to create a spellbinding musical journey that conjures up fantastic imagery of powerful celestial bodies and vast expanses of colourful cosmos.

It’s safe to say that KAL-EL continue their rich vein of creative form with this uplifting EP. At just over 14 minutes Moon People is a tantalising glimpse at what is to come from KAL-EL. 

Rating: 8/10

Moon People is set for release on September 22nd via Majestic Mountain Records.

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