Velcro Dog

Velcro Dog is the solo project of Norwegian musician and songwriter Tony Gonzalez (Barren Womb, Twin Serpent, Oma Desala). Born from an incessant need to deal with both old and new ghosts, Velcro Dog creeps along the darkest corners of the folk, americana and country traditions, carving out a sound that may perhaps best be labelled as fjord noir.

What could be more fitting then than simply naming the sophomore album ‘Fjord Noir’? Similarly to the 2022 debut ‘Misanthropology’, the backbone of Velcro Dog is still sad songs about love, death and depression, but the abyss has grown a lot deeper and bleaker this time around. The material for ‘Fjord Noir’ came about during a two-year period marred by decaying mental health and paints a fragmented picture of life inside a black cloud where escapism, doubt and resignation run rampant. But there’s more than navel-gazing introspection at work here: Gonzalez also invites the listener to get to know some of the fates around him and has even penned a love letter to his hometown of Trondheim.

Tight arrangements and catchy melodies are the focal point when Gonzalez plays around with both minor and major moods, something which is evident in tracks like ‘The Gonzo Futurist Manifesto’ and 'Like a Guest'. Cinematic elements like choirs and strings are heavily featured throughout ‘Fjord Noir’ to underscore the dramatic nature of the songs, without trampling the low-key, minimal vibe that characterises Velcro Dog’s sound.

‘Fjord Noir’ was recorded and mixed in Piir Studio in Trondheim, Norway by Vebjørn Svanberg Numme (Dune Sea, Probleman, Waste a Saint) and mastered by Alan Douches (Sufjan Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Chelsea Wolfe) at West West Side Music. The album will be released digitally, on CD and limited vinyl September 18 through Westergaard Records.