Meet Ex Norwegian, the band that’s been making eardrums happy and genre purists scratch their heads since 2008. Led by sonic architect Roger Houdaille, these Miami mavericks are what you’d get if the ’60s garage scene and ’70s power pop had a love child raised by modern rock rebels.

For those not in the know, well, come meet Wasted Lines, the Ex Norwegian album that dodged oblivion and landed in brilliance.

Released in 2014 as their fifth outing, it’s a sharp left turn sparked by fate: a flat gig in late-2013 Miami, a fan-turned-frontwoman in Lucia Perez, and a whirlwind sprint to LA studios with Fernando Perdomo at the helm.

From the doo-wop bounce of CheepCheep to the psych-pop haze of Much Rooms, this is a band reborn — aiming for mainstream but hitting something weirder and better. Expanded and remixed to high-fidelity glory, Wasted Lines is the beautiful accident your speakers didn’t know they needed.

1. CheepCheep [2:56]
2. Be There [3:27]
3. Much Rooms [3:11]
4. Unstoppable [3:16]
5. All The Time [4:05]
6. First Time [3:08]
7. You Could Be Someone [2:26]
8. It’s Too Late [2:54]
9. Only The Clues [3:31]
10. Unfair to Compare [2:43]
11. Love Is [3:33]
12. Rhyme Mind (2025 Remix) [4:45]
13. Feelin’ It (2025 Remaster) [2:50]
14. Count On Me (2025 Remaster) [3:51]
15. Love Is (Electric Version) [2025 Remaster] [4:24]
16. My Days Are Numbered (2025 Remaster) [3:59]
17. So Fine (It’s Frightening) [2025 Remaster] [2:54]
18. I Know That You Should (2025 Remaster) [3:03]
19. Baby Your Lame (2025 Remaster) [3:28]
20. European TV (2025 Remaster) [2:52]
21. Pretty Paradox (2025 Remaster) [4:28]

Complete with a whopping 10 bonus tracks and with fresh mixes by Zach Ziskin that will make your ears time travel, Ex Norwegian’s 5th Album, and first featuring guest lead vocalist Lucia Perez, opens on the jangly pop of CheepCheep (Remix) and the hand clapper Be There, the guitar-fed, mid-tempo rock of Much Rooms (Remix) and then comes the crashingly ambient Unstoppable and the veritably shimmering rock of All The Time.

Up next is the crashing guitar work of First Time which is itself backed seamlessly by the atmospherically-charged balladry of You Could Be Someone, the delightful foot tapper It’s Too Late, the indie pop gem Only The Clues (Remix), rounding out on the Eastern-hued Unfair to Compare (Unfair), closing on the low slung, breathy Love Is.

The expanded edition then continues onward with the psych-rocker Rhyme Mind (Remix) and the free-wheeling Feelin’ It and then comes the pop-rocker Count On Me, the brilliantly decadent Love Is (Electric Version) and the 70’s-esque, prog-psych My Days Are Numbered.

And to wrap things up, we are now lovingly greeted with the easy going So Fine (It’s Frightening) and the melodic I Know That You Should, then along comes the pleasantly popular Baby Your Lame, the driven European TV, coming to a close on the fluttering guitar work within Pretty Paradox.

Their debut single, Something Unreal, wasn’t just a song – it was a college radio revolution. And their 2009 album Standby? Let’s just say it put the stand in outstanding. Fast forward through a discography more prolific than a rabbit warren, and you’ll find them in 2021, tipping their hats to Liverpool’s unsung hero, Jimmy Campbell, with a tribute album featuring more guest stars than a Hollywood red carpet.

2022 saw the arrival of Spook Du Jour, their thirteenth helping of auditory awesomeness. And because 13 is for amateurs, they dropped Sooo Extra in late 2023, proving that excess is best when it comes to great tunes. Now, Think Like A Key Music is diving into Ex Norwegian’s back catalog like it’s a treasure chest of long-lost pirate gold!

Ex Norwegian: Turning listeners into fans faster than you can say Oslo. No Scandinavian passport required!

Official Purchase Link

www.exnorwegian.com