Album Review: Kalandra – The Other Side
Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
“The Other Side” represents the second release of 2026 for Norway’s Kalandra, having brought us “Live At Lafyette” this February. A mark of ambition for sure. Artists the world over have found inspiration in all manner of places. Whether it’s personal experience from their daily lives, a way to express intense emotions they cannot verbalise, or world events, the sources of inspiration are practically endless. Though on “The Other Side”, Kalandra have looked not to the waking world but rather harnessing the power of the subconscious mind as fuel for this 10 track opus. Or put in a more simple way, the 4 members of Kalandra utilised their dreams and the content of this to write their songs. Whether it’s music they hear in a dream, a person they encounter, it all got jotted down in this approach they refer to as dream journalling.
How would this approach manifest on “The Other Side”?
Traditional meets contemporary in ‘Let Me Be Open’. With the haunting pagan strings lurking in the background early on, modern high tempo electronic beats and synths move to the forefront and form the spine of the song, giving a new age feel like that of Era or Enigma. Alongside some blazing lead guitars to close out the composition. Though the song is underlined by a dream-like texture and delicate soundscape. This feels like one of the more upbeat songs, but is eclipsed by ‘Animal’, coming in at a reported 136 bpm; practically a grindcore speed song by Kalandra’s standards! This is one that immediately grabs your attention and is one of the major hooks on the entire album, and given the energy and infectious chorus of this number, it feels like something that could capture the hearts of many. Could we see a truncated version at a future Eurovision song contest?
There seems to be a shift in the world of music, where artists are rejecting over-polished and over-engineered mixes. Instead, they’re moving towards raw single takes. If it comes out slightly rough, so be it. The end goal is to capture that raw unfiltered emotion that would otherwise get lost. Der Weg Einer Freiheit and Converge have advocated this approach in recent times in the extreme metal landscape, alongside Emma Ruth Rundle in the post rock world.
Kalandra joins this movement on “The Other Side”.
Guitarist Jogeir described the approach as being very ‘run and gun’ and avoiding overthinking, describing that the engineers from previous records had a little too much to do. Now they’ve simplified the approach with single tracking, as he explains “you can get just as much energy from one big sound as you can from a hundred smaller sounds”.
‘In The Shadows’ seems to be an advocate of this minimalist approach. Just a simple yet effective piano segment with the raw unfiltered beauty of Katrine’s voice driving the song. Normally, engineers would edit the little pops and breaths you hear from her vocals, but leaving them in here makes the whole composition feel so much more authentic and believable. Almost like she’s singing it right in front of you in person! The guitars could MAYBE be a little sharper in ‘Lost In The Dark’, but again, this back-to-basics approach to production makes the whole product feel so much more endearing.
‘In The Shadows’ isn’t the only piano-driven ballad on the album. Get some tissues ready for ‘A Ship Has Left The Shore’, a tear-jerking affair tackling the emotionally potent topic of grief. At times, it feels like nothing is really happening in the song. Though this is where Kalandra’s genius really shines. See, it’s this space that is crucial to allow you, the listener, to really consume and digest the evocative power of the keys and Katrine’s vocals which are frankly overflowing with raw human sentiment. This space also allows you to mentally fill in the blanks, to interpret and associate the music at your own pace and on your own terms.
Kalandra must be living a dream right now. From their early beginnings as a student band in Liverpool circa 2012 to selling out the 1300 cap Rockefeller in their native Norway, it feels like they’re only really beginning to realise their huge potential. Packing out Manchester’s Gorilla venue September 2024 meant that an upgrade to Manchester Academy 2 was required for the leg of their early 2027 tour in the city. A sign that people are waking up to the incredible talent Kalandra possesses.
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