Bio
Misra welcomes St. Thomas! Helmed by songwriter Thomas Hansen, St. Thomas is Norway’s curious, enchantingly melodic, thoroughly 21st-century nod to the American folk tradition. I’m Coming Home is St. Thomas’s first release outside of Norway.
St. Thomas has been startlingly successful in their homeland, spending much of the past summer in the Norwegian Top 10, an unlikely bedfellow for the likes of Shaggy and Basement Jaxx. There aren’t too many places in the world where the lovely, home-recorded country twang of St. Thomas would land anywhere on the pop charts, but in Norway there is much more than just an underground following for these gorgeous and earnest songs.
Recently signed to the prestigious City Slang label in Europe and heaped with widespread praise in the English press (MOJO, UNCUT, NME, Q), St. Thomas is poised for success on our shores. On the heels of critically acclaimed Norwegians Kings of Convenience (whom St. Thomas outsells at home), the band is ready to bring their new folk sound to North American ears.
Hovering somewhere between Neil Young's tremulous falsetto, Galaxie 500's fragility, Appendix Out’s rural sensibility and Will Oldham's gothic country musings, St. Thomas’s music is more than simply the sum of its influences: this is a Nordic take on Appalachian country. I’m Coming Home is an inspirational, intimate and unusual album that, delivered through St. Thomas’ sense of timeless melody, seeps into the subconscious. Hidden beneath banjo and fiddle, the heart of true pop music swells; these 12 endearing selections range from the melancholy “Strangers Out of Blue” to the playful “Take A Dance With Me.”
St. Thomas originally rose from the ashes of Hansen's first band, Emily Lang, a five-piece that garnered an ardent following in the Norwegian underground on the basis of just a demo. When that outfit broke up in 2000, Hansen had already started recording his own songs on a four track, songs that evolved into St. Thomas’s debut, Mysterious Walks, released by hip Norwegian label Racing Junior.
Hansen started touring as St Thomas & The Magic Club, culling musical accompaniment from an extensive circle of friends. Not unlike some of his American counterparts, (Smog, Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes come to mind) St. Thomas’s performances consisted of a rotating cast of musicians, ranging anywhere from a two to 10 pieces. In March 2001, St. Thomas embarked on its first European tour, which was followed by the recording sessions for I’m Coming Home.
Hansen still held his day job as a postman when the "Cornerman” EP was released on Racing Junior in June of 2001. Debuting at No. 8 on the Norwegian charts, the single remained in the top 10 for six weeks. St. Thomas then appeared at the legendary Roskilde festival, followed by a co-headlining show with Grandaddy and the Magnetic Fields at the Quart Festival just one week later.
Needless to say, Hansen quit his job as a postman shortly afterward; nestled alongside Shaggy and Basement Jaxx, it had become pretty hard to get up at five every morning.
Since the release of I’m Coming Home on City Slang, much has gone on in the world of St. Thomas. They’ve been on tour almost non-stop, including an extensive seven week stretch with Lambchop. This portion of the tour included a controversial show at the famed Royal Albert Hall and after these dates, Hansen has returned to his new home in Berlin to work on demos for the next album.
Discography
I'm Coming Home (2002)
CD - $12.00