Some goodbyes are more beautiful than sad, yet Norway’s long-standing agents of harmony-laden, jangle-rich, sun-kissed psych-pop, I Was A King manage to combine amidst the mid-summer heartbreak of their new single, “Dust Bunnies.” Announcing that they are to add an tenth album of philosophical lyricism and easy-going, delicately-mined melody to their remarkable back catalogue, the band’s latest, Bill Ryder-Jones-produced album, Until The End, is set for release on Friday, October 17, 2025 on Hype City.
Described by the band as an album of tales “of sleepless nights and longing, love, loss and paranoia, woven into seemingly ordinary lives”, the album follows not only their 2022 album, Follow Me Home, but a career-spanning ‘Best of…’ collection, Best Wishes – A Shortcut to I Was a King, released in March this year. Concluding recording sessions at Ryder-Jones’ YAWN Studios around the same time, the release of Dust Bunnies five months later hints a new album of warmth and generous emotional honesty, customary to the band’s long-established ethos.
Formed around the artistic nucleus of renowned Norwegian indie folk artist, Anne Lise Frøkedal and singer, co-songwriter and producer, Frode Strømstad, alongside multi-instrumentalist, Ole Reidar Gudmestad, I Was A King have regularly pulled in comparisons to The Byrds, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Beachwood Sparks and Dinosaur Jr. whilst tearing pages from a copybook that is all their own. Dust Bunnies’ sense of imminent romantic loss, layered over richly orchestrated strings arranged on top of opulent vocal harmonies, presents the cult band’s sustained creative ambition, 18 years after their debut album, as a hazy, easy-going gift of sun-specked song to their fans at home in Scandinavia, as well as their discerning fanbase in the US and UK.
