Can’t decide if Oslo-based band Monalia is in my head, or if we are all experiencing that moment that happens at least once a year when life seems to be just a bit much. At some point during a music festival last week, I told my friends I was considering checking myself into a mental institution for a weekend, just to get some sleep and get away from my phone. It probably sounds worse than it actually is.

The band has created their own unique genre called mountain surf, and although I don’t think we need any more sub-genres to rock, I particularly like this one. Influenced by 60’s pop and the British underground scene from the 80s and early 90s, and marrying that with the beautiful mountains of Telemark (where the foundering of the band, Terje Halmrast, has his roots), mountain surf is born. It’s also fitting with Cannon Beach in Oregon, which seems to have the same effect.

The tune “Get away” (off their full-length album So Much Better) is the quintessence of mountain surf, with dreamy yet brooding vocals, and lyrics that are nothing if not transcendent. Listen to “Get away” below x