Hailing from Oslo, Norway four-piece Lukestar- a.k.a. Truls Heggero, Yngve Hilmo, Marius Ergo, and Jørgen Smådal Larsen - have already managed to create quite a name for themselves (that's slightly easier to pronounce). After successful UK and European tours, and an outright dominance of the Norwegian music scene, Lukestar are preparing for their stateside debut via the November 4th release of their sophomore album, Lake Toba, on Flameshovel Records.

Growing up in the far outskirts of Oslo with the wilderness as their nearest neighbor, Truls and the gang started making songs inspired by 80s pop music and Queen. Turning teenagers in the early 90s, the band got swept up by the Nevermind-revolution, as a great deal of their generation did. This led to the fascination that Lukestar still has for 3-chord pop-songs covered in energetic guitars and melodies provoking waves of spine-chills. Since then, Lukestar's sound has evolved, with guitars, drums, bass & keyboards creating a dynamic universe surrounding the otherworldly falsetto of lead singer Truls´ magnetic voice, which comes to him naturally and quite unexpectedly.

In the two years since Lukestar's inception, these five young men have amassed an impressive body of work, including two EPs and full-lengths. For every moment of super-accessible pop they have created, there is an equal span of aggressive math-rock. For every lyric that could have been torn from the pages of a book on ancient mythology, there is another that seems just as suited for pop radio.

Lukestar have enjoyed a combined 26 weeks of airplay on Norwegian national radio between the first two singles off Lake Toba ("White Shade" and "The Shade You Hide") and, in the eight months since its release in their homeland, Lake Toba has sold more than 4,500 copies (keeping in mind that 15,000 sales in their country is their equivalent of a gold record). Pitchfork caught on early, giving the album a 7.0 review and calling it, "a solid collection of pulsing indie-rock songs with half-shouted hooks and guitars unwinding like fractal art." NME.com have also come on as big supporters, featuring the album on their site.