viseMènn

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

One of the main points of the International Pop Overthrow is to introduce music from far and wide to the shores of Britain. It is an ethos that has served David Bash, the organiser, the conveyor of such thought extremely well over the last 12 years and going into the week-long festival’s 13th year shows no signs of abating or slowing down.

From the southern half of Norway, a country with much musical affinity in recent years with Liverpool, came the corporeal form of ViseMenn, the hybrid of pop, heavier rock and the delicate touch of the Progressive in which the stuff of legends is born. For the crowd inside The Cavern, it was almost as if David Bash had wished everybody present a very Happy Christmas and to fill their boots completely to the sounds of this very cool but outrageously good band.

Music is a powerful weapon, it can install many different emotions in the heart, it can stir passion and fortitude to the point of alarming highs and sensitive, creative depths of feelings that had been well and truly hidden for years and in ViseMenn, that Nordic outlook coupled with the dynamic overflow of Progressive was just exhilarating.

Half an hour though is not long enough when it comes to a band with Progressive in the veins, it can take that long sometimes for a band to truly get going and to get the heads of their willing captives to bounce with the same temperance that the mystery of the song requires. Yet ViseMenn managed to not only install the thought of wanting more, they left the stage victorious and to great acclaim. Once more it seems that David Bash knows more about how to put on a show than many others.

Tracks such as Destined Salvation, The Bright and the Shining, You Are, Don’t Let It Break and Begging You Please all gave the resounding, almost spectral like appeal which broke up the ambient pop that had made the Friday afternoon special to that point and injected a sense of the sophistication to the occasion.

Norway has produced a string of high quality musicians of late, many to whom Liverpool is a second home, ViseMenn offer yet another cause for celebration that there is such strong links between the two countries. Outstanding musicianship in which the heart can only rejoice at!

Ian D. Hall - Liverpool Sound and Vision

From the south of Norway comes an alternative rock band named ViseMènn that explores the shadowy depths and lofty highs of contemplative, but heavily atmospheric music. Helge Corneliussen (vocals, bass), Lars Olav Mangelrød (guitar, backing vocals), Sølve Eggebø (keyboards, backing vocals), and Magnar Lofthus (drums) formed ViseMènn in the mid-2000s and their latest single, Begging You Please, is their current apex as a band. The delicately potent single has been released in the format of a powerfully thought-provoking video directed by Canadian film industry professional Richard D. Leko.

Begging You Please starts off with a gentle drum beat, cymbal hits, and burning, but restrained guitar riffs. Helge sings in a sorrowful tone that “The moment I saw your face / I was lost and there’s no escape.” The chorus actually subdues the instrumental turmoil for a while with its gently stroked, fluid guitar lines, wandering keyboard notes, and measured drum strikes. Helge lifts his voice to an airily weeping register as he poignantly cries “I’m begging you please…” Near the song’s end the sonics build up briefly in intensity as Hegle softly droops through his melancholic coos amid guitar, keyboards, and drums that all rise empathetically in tune with his emotionally distressed vocal delivery.

Matching and even heightening the anguish displayed in the song, the video shows a man and a woman, in different locations in the woods, encountering “themselves” – except that their doubles are in physical trouble and the man and the woman end up using CPR methods to try to revive them(selves). The double-take effect is subtle, but as the man and woman each work on trying to save themselves, the viewer will notice that the clothes on the (wo)man are the same as the one laying prostrate on the ground. Quite disquieting and profound in equal measure (and that’s not even a recap of the whole video) and a visual story arc that brings out the depth of Begging You Please even more. - Indie Music Review

From the snowy dreamlands we call Norway come four viseMenn, and with them, an exceptional atmospheric sound in “Begging You Please”, titular track of their new album.

As a stand alone track to an album this reviewer has yet to listen to, it seems a fantastic PR move in an age where we are not only used to getting the whole product right away, we expect it right away. The band have not made this easy for us, perhaps things are done differently in their Nordic home. Whatever the case may be, this single is a hook that will catch even the most stubborn of fish. The group has found success already with this track, having found the tune as a backing track to a YouTube video from one very much acclaimed National Geographic master of light, Aka photographer Joe McNally, where it was further discovered by a Canadian Film director who will undoubtedly go on to have it discovered even further. All this from a SINGLE!

The song itself, ringing in at four and a quarter minutes, is a deep ethereal masterpiece, with vocals, courtesy of Helge Corneliussen that hit a range of notes with precision and grace, punctuating traditional rock instrumentals with a sound that reminds you of a few famous vocalists, but at the same time doesn’t. This is a sound to itself. Heavy hits from Magnar Lofthus are one of the biggest selling points of the track, and while the technical aspects of what he brings to the song are nothing any rock drummer couldn’t match, it’s the clarity and timing that just jive so well here.

If you’re interested in picking up the album, which again, shares a name with this tune, you can explore the sites below for purchase and streaming links. While you’re at it, head on over to their Facebook page, click like, and keep your eyes out for their upcoming video for “Begging you Please” - Abort Magazine

If you were planning on taking a vacation to outer space, make sure this track is on the playlist.

Introducing viseMenn…a good band with a weird name. Their twitter info reads “dreamy, atmospheric rock from the south of Norway,” and thats a perfect way to describe this group of hard rocking Norwegians. Their hit single “Begging You Please” is made up of heavy guitar riffs and wavy vocals, taking listeners through four minutes of highs and lows.

When listening, its hard to believe these guys are actually Norweigan, simply because they just dont sound like it. However after some research, we can put all doubts to rest when looking at who actually makes up this band:

Lars Olav Mangelrød (Guitars), Helge Corneliussen (Bass/Vocals), Sølve Eggebø (Keyboards), Magnar Lofthus (Drums). So lets move on…..

Overall, this is a solid single from a band that has been playing together for over a decade. It seems they have finally found their niche and LFTU is excited to see what they have in store for us down the road.

“Begging You Please” is one out of an expected slew of singles, yet to be release. Take a listen below! - Live From The Underground

viseMénn are a rock band that plays dreamy atmospheric rock. This southern Norwegian band has been around since the mid-2000s and consists of Lars Olav Mangelrød (Guitars), Helge Corneliussen (Bass/Vocals), Sølve Eggebø (Keyboards) and Magnar Lofthus (Drums).

It’s dark, kind of mournful, and fills me with dread almost. It’s not high energy, nor is it a true slow song. The lyrics are clear, full of emotion and raw sorrow; it has an echo effect to emphasis the level of sadness that it contains. The vocals are strong and smooth, the song’s guitar centered, done well, with a strong, powerful sound that is layered. It’s not flat; it has way more than one note to it. It hits you to the core and it hits you on more than one level. The son’s about being lost and waiting for someone to come find them so they don’t have to be broken and lost anymore, so hence the lyrics “Begging You Please come find me, take me home, let me not hurt anymore, I hate what I’m going through so find me please.”

Definitely a great beginning to what will hopefully become a whole album soon. (Rick Ecker) - New Noise Magazine

After months of rigorous preparation, Norwegian rock band viseMenn released their single, “Begging You Please” yesterday.

This almost four-and-a-half minute production would appease to anyone who dibble in a little drive time rock as the slight distorted guitars and the mesmerising overtones creates a truly ambient and tranquil vibe. The guys are currently working on a music video to accompany the single.

Lars Olav Mangelrød (Guitars), Helge Corneliussen (Bass/Vocals), Sølve Eggebø (Keyboards) and Magnar Lofthus (Drums) met at an improvisational rock project, ‘a Crack in Time and the Break of Dawn’ and the band came to life in the mid-noughties. Since then critics have hailed the quartet’s capability of capturing different emotions in a single release.

Have a listen to “Begging You Please”. - Music Crowns

The latest single from Norway’s viseMènn find the band carefully exploring the cavernous hollows of atmospheric mope rock. Crestfallen guitar and softly glowing moonlit synth hang loosely from the frame of a skeletal scarecrow frame of drumming, swelling and collapsing as if tumbled and tussled by a lazy yet insistent breeze. “Begging You Please” is somehow emotionally vulnerable and casually disconnected at the same time, with pleading vocals seeming to disassociate from the poltergeists of music rising and falling in the expanses between. The track hangs heavy with an emotional weariness mirrored in the staggering, stumbling beat as the song, drunken and depressed, collapses face first yet sinks through the floorboards in a light, semi-corporeal dream state; unharmed save for a touch of despair. - Magic Monster X