Dipsomaniacs
Bandname
Dipsomaniacs
Country
NO/Tiller outside Trondheim
Founded
1997
Members
Oyvind Holm,
Holbekken 19F,
7092 Tiller,
Norway
Thomas Henriksen
Arve B?stmorsjan
Robert Skj?rvik
Praying Winter
Label
Camera Obscura
Released
2003
Tracks
14
Time
49
Format
LP ? / CD

The Dipsomaniacs after all their excellent records are a guarantor for psychic quality and durable ascension. Like a pure solitair comes the new record to you, lifting you smoothly onto the 113th floor of your brain. The absolute ear candy comes as the third last tune. This proofs of self confidence which is legitimate without doubt. They are playing in their own liga. Essential.

Tremolo of her Mind....
Label
Free City Media
Released
2002
Tracks
5
Time
47
Remark
Improvisations in Studio
Format
No Vinyl / CD
Stethoscopic Notion
Label
LP: Apartment. CD: Camera Obscura
Released
2001
Tracks
12
Time
46
Format
LP / CD

Another good album, maybe they get even better with every new record.

Burn Brightly
Label
Camera Obscura (Australia)
Released
2000
Tracks
3
Remark
Ultra thick black vinyl
Format
7'' / No CD
Braid of Knees
Label
Progress Records(CD, Norway)/Stickman Records(CD, Europe)/Apartment(LP, Worldwide)
Released
1999
Tracks
14
Remark
LP released on Apartment Records with bonus 7" containing the two songs windowshopping 2 am and queen underfed. The latter also on the cd.
Format
LP / CD

The Olivia Tremor Control know it, the Mooseheart Faith guys know it, and the
Lazily Spun knew it before they self-destructed. The Green Pajamas have
probably always known it. The four- or eight-track home studio is the
psychedelic canvas of the nineties, freeing musicians from the dead weight of
the commercial studio environment and providing them with the space and time
to encode their visions accurately. Home-brewed or not, these environments
probably give 90s underground musicians more sound-sculpting options than
George Martin ever had when he was creating some of the greatest recorded work
of the 20th Century, and so are formidable tools in the right hands. Ã?yvind
Holm, the creative force behind Norway´s Dipsomaniacs, certainly has the right
hands, if the fiery arc from 1997´s 'Bumble-Bee Eyes´ through last
year´s 'Reverb No Hollowness´ to the present release is any indication. In
fact, if 'Reverb No Hollowness´ was a Viking longboat full of memorable hooks
and Byrdsian guitar sorcery, you can liken 'Braid of Knees´ to an improbably
ornate dirigible of sound eased through some humid latitude by giant, lazily-
circulating diamond propellers. Part of the reason is the expanded
instrumental palette. Guitars are just one part of an orchestra with piano,
strings, French horns, tablas, tamboura, theremin, samplers and much more
besides. It?s not just a one man show either - the contributions of Arve
Gulbrandsen and Thomas Henriksen on percussion, keyboards, tamboura and
electronics shouldn?t be underestimated. Extraordinary moments abound. ?

Prelude? let you know what you are in for with waves of backwards tamboura
introducing propulsive, looping bass and acoustic guitar rhythms and wildly
phased vocals urging the listener to ?grab a chair sit down and relax?. Not
much chance of that happening, though, as some free sax testifies over the top
of Ã?yvind?s pop sensibilities in the deep-fried ?Sum Genius?, and suddenly
Coltrane and The Beatles are sharing a stage. With its theremin, loops and
demented carousel cadences, ?The Water Choir?s Drowning? recall the Olivia
Tremor Control at their best, and it contributes the title of the record via
the refrain ?We drowsed beneath the trees/a braid made of our knees?. I should
mention here that the lyrics are brilliant throughout, with absolutely no
allowance necessary for the fact that English is obviously not Holm?s mother
tongue. The staggering ?Queen Underfed? is thankfully rescued from compilation
obscurity, and along with the similarly rescued ?Sandbox Feeling? illustrates
another reason why this record is such a knockout - Holm? sleathery,
Lennonesque voice seems to be tracing an exponential course into the
ionosphere, and on these two tracks it has a genuinely electric hairs-on-the-
back-of-the-neck potential. Incidentally, the E-bow solo on the latter is
particularly spiffing. Holm lays his DIY manifesto bare in the
expressionistic ?Looking for Tape Traders?: ?Kitchen sessions late at
night/Expeditions in dim light/A miner for delight/Stirrings behind basement
walls/Wires across the floor/Soul flutters for awhile?. But the track that
will probably cause you to overshoot your psychic runway and come to rest
wheels-up in an field of dandelions is the proto-progressive rocker ?Dead
Right?, which throws out disintegrating organ riffs like pissed-off volcano,
then changes gear effortlessly into a hushed chorus with only a lone
glockenspiel for company. With "Braid of Knees", Ã?yvind Holm and his fellow
travellers have made the emphatic statement that "Reverb No Hollowness"
suggested they were capable of. It?s a giant apostrophe in the sky and a
fitting a conclusion to a decade filled with great although sometimes
criminally-overlooked psychedelic music.

Tony Dale for Ptolemaic Terrascope (UK)
4 November 1999

On their second album, Braid of Knees, this Norwegian band delivers some of
the most authentic slices of pop-psyche you´ll hear in this millennium, or
any other. All of the requisite pieces are in place: heavy, busy guitar
figures, a variety of keyboard instruments and strings, and lead singer
Oyvind Holm´s reedy vocals, which are suitably multi-tracked. If someone
told you that "The Water Choir´s Drowning," and "Sum Genius" came from one
of the Rubble or Strange Days collections, you´d believe it! Others like
"Hallelujah Feedback" are particularly freakbeat. "Queen Underfed" injects
a bit of Olde English jangle, "Dead Right" and "Nothing Is For Keeps" sound
like what might happen if The Rooks went psychedelic, and "Caught Me
Dreaming" has that ultra thick Cotton Mather vibe. Both the authenticity
and devotion of Braid of Knees make the Dipsomaniacs kind of like the
Resonars of Scandinavia, a lofty title for those of you in the know. Don´t
take my word for it; get Braid of Knees and hear for yourself!

David Bash
Amplifier, Issue #18 (USA)

Many nice melodies connected by different instruments from theremin to tablas. The vocals strech like a long psychedelic chewing gum through the tracks, sounds seem to run backwards, but the melody keeps them all together.

Reverb No Hollowness
Label
Progress(CD, Norway), Stickman Records(CD, Europe) and Apartment(LP, wordwide)
Released
1998
Tracks
11
Time
44
Remark
Recorded at Rosten Elementary School summer of 1998.
Format
LP / CD

Öyvind Holm´s Dipsomaniacs were something of a surprise hit on the POT-25
CD it seems, certainly judging by the enthusiastic letters we received in
response to it. Most regular Terrascope readers know by now that we invite
bands to contribute to our compilations on merit alone and not because we
think their name will help "shift some units", so it certainly came as no
surprise to us to be asking a virtually unknown, single-minded individual
from darkest Norway with just one 7 inch and a then newly-released LP to his
unpronouncable name if we could have a song; and it´s to Oyvind´s eternal
merit that he recorded something especially for us rather than letting us
have an outtake from the new album he was then working on. Thanks, pal.
Anyway, the new album´s out now - and if you were amongst those who thought
the Dipso´s POT-contribution was good, then trust me: you´ re going to be
blown away by this. The material ranges from gloriously Byrdsian flights of
fancy (´ Will I Ever´ ) through lovingly crafted Barrett-era Floyd
psychedelia with pulsing globules of keyboard and driving bass riffs,
(´ Coffee In My Clouds´ ),
from introspective guitar harmony numbers with an aching power-pop feel
(´telly Anyway´ ) through Sgt. Pepperish celebrations of inspired,
studio-enhanced psych (´space Not Mind´ ) to ´ Help´ -era rock and roll
(´ Whatever Misery for Miles´ ) and Frondian blasts of guitar rock with
instinctive glimpses of melodic insight (´ In My Mind´ ). The stand-out
numbers though are undoubtedly ´land Escapes´ and, especially, ´losing
Sleep´ in which all of Oyvind´s tricks, inspirations and influences are
cleverly crafted into forward-looking pieces of spirited psychedelia which
place the Dipsomaniacs firmly in the forefront of today´s European
underground. Like the man says, "These last six months or so, I´ve been
obsessed with these songs. Carrying eleven half-written tunes around in
your head at once is probably a lot like hearing inner voices" - and now
it´s your turn to share in them, you lucky people.

Phil, The Ptolemaic Terrascope (England)

Whatever Misery For Miles
Label
A joing release by Apartment Records / Stickman / Progress
Released
1998
Tracks
3
Remark
Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices plays bass, guitars and do some backing vocals on the song 2nd Honeymoon.
Format
7'' / No CD
Bumble-bee Eyes
Label
Peephole Records
Released
1997
Tracks
12
Remark
Recorded at various places mainly by Holm himself during 1997. 3 pressings of 100 copies each have been made. Be prepared to struggle to find it these days.
Format
LP / No CD

Bumle-bee eyes was also officially released on CD (CDR).

With a name like The Dipsomaniacs you would not expect
what is actually presented on Bumble-bee Eyes, and I, for one is glad that
the name is somewhat misleading. The Dipsomaniacs is really Ã?yvind Holm
(voices and most of the instruments) with help from a couple of additional
musicians. What we get is a "lo-fi-close-to-no-fi at all-fi" as stated on
the insert. Nearly half of the songs is him alone with voice and (mostly
distorted) guitars, and despite his own description of the recording
facilities, the record sounds surprisingly fresh. Bumble-bee Eyes starts
off with Luncheon which sounds like a decent John Lennon demo for a track
that was left over from the Revolver sessions (think Scoop by Pete
Townshend). And, yes, The Dipsomaniacs is not afraid of stating the
Liverpudlians as an important source of inspiration. You can also hear
traces of newer American artists such as Portastatic or Refrigerator. It
isn´t until the fourth track, Cul-de-sac, however, that you begin to
realise what The Dipsomaniacs is capable of. This long, introvert piece is
all the title suggests,with its vintage Pretty Things melody and
arrangement - creepy! The Dipsomaniacs have worked a lot on the
arrangements of their songs, and sounds more thoroughly prepared than most
of their lo-fi contemporaries with the use of keyboards and the occasional
flute and fiddle. Add to this songs far above average, with Telephock,
Differing Pleasures and Cul-de-sac as outstanding on the record, and
Bumble-bee Eyes competes with Motorpsycho and Finn Coren as 1997´s best
release from Norway so far. Come to think of it, it´s a long time since I
heard Norwegians sing English as good as Mr. Holm.With The Dipsomaniacs,
along with artists such as Bronson Comet Lighter and Stuntbike, the future
for underground pop music in Norway looks bright! If you are lucky, there
may still be some copies on burgundy vinyl left.
Pingo(Luna kafé)

Subterfuge EP
Label
Apartment Records
Released
1997
Tracks
4
Format
7'' / No CD

The Dipsomaniacs have a new 7 inch out on Apartment Records label
of Sandakervn 11 oppg. 2 leil 512, 0473 Oslo, Norway: entitled the
´subterfuge´ EP. It carries on nicely from their excellent ´ Bumble Bee
Eyes´lP from last year, four varied songs of swirling melodic psychedelia
which for me hits a high on the melancholy minor-key strains of
"Underneath the light". Strummed guitars, careening vocals and backwards
effects sum up the Dipsomaniacs´ hook-laden sound, and I dig it. Phil
McMullen The Ptolemaic Terrascope #25 (England)