So, let’s get one thing straight: When Does This Place Become Our Scene is a heavy album, no matter which way you slice it.  Why, then, is this being released in our Sunday spot for lighter fare?  Sure, noise rock, post-hardcore, and punk straddle the line of “nonmetal” pretty effectively, but there’s no doubt that the sophomore release from Norway’s Hammok falls heavily on one side of the spectrum.  Is it because I finally got around to starting Baldur’s Gate 3 this week and have completely lost all sense of time and obligations and experienced a little bit of ego death?  Who’s to say?  That’s summer, baby!

Hammok started life like a lot of projects that have come and gone in recent years: as a bedroom pandemic project between childhood friends.  What makes Hammok different is their commitment and determination to stick it out and see the project through to the bitter end, even after the world opened back up again.  Guitarist/vocalist Tobias Osland and drummer Ferdinand Aasheim played in bands together when they were literal preteens, and right before the world shut down, they were introduced to bassist Ole Benjamin, who was looking for a new project after his main band dissolved.  The three moved in together just as everything flipped on its head, and the beginnings of Hammok were set.  But unlike their predecessors, they had to learn how to be a band not through live shows — those were off the table — but through meticulous writing, recording, and honing their craft. 

It’s no small wonder, then, that almost immediately upon their debut, the trio experienced an international amount of success, garnering acclaim and eventually allowing them to travel the world playing their music.  For three people whose best shot to date at a career in music started in a bedroom in Oslo, whose scene is notoriously insular and tight-knit, the explosion in popularity was both exhilarating and intimidating.  When Does This Place Become Our Scene is both their love letter to their friends and fans who helped them along the way and welcomed them as strangers with open arms, as well as their recognition of how far they and the hardcore scene still have to go.

Good, nay great, noise rock lives and dies by the guitar tone, and I’m very pleased to say that all the meticulous work done honing their production skills is what makes Our Scene stand out the most.  Osland states that the recording process was “the hardest thing I’ve done in my life”, but I hope they know all the blood, sweat, and tears were worth it.  This thing *sounds* incredible, from the melodic leads of opener “The Scene” to the alien computer blips of “Blast Off (Blast Off) Blast Off” to the crushing heaviness of the bass tone on “BANG” and everything in between.  And that’s to say nothing of the songwriting chops on display: what you get here is a lot of the spastic energy of Refused meeting the emotional catharsis of Title Fight, with the irreverent, cheeky humor and outrageous tones of McLusky, all wrapped up in one tight, concise package. They may not have written these songs with mosh pits in mind, but there are definitely going to be pits breaking out when this hits the live circuit; there are copious amounts of the undeniable energy and reckless abandon of youth here, with enough cleverness and tricks to know that this is a band that will stick around for a while. The scene really is theirs for the taking if they play their cards right.

It’s not every day we get a Sargent House promo, but when we do, I’m all over it.  They’re a label that is synonymous with quality in my mind, and When Does This Place Become Our Scene perfectly encapsulates that.  I’m so much more taken with this record than even I thought I was going to be, but there’s a charm here that lies in between the punk energy, post-hardcore emotion and noise rock attitude that makes this record much more than the sum of its parts.  It’s a passion project, and you really get that in every squeal and scream.

-Ian

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When Does This Place Become Our Scene is out now on Sargent House.  For more information on Hammok, visit their Instagram page.