Norway punks Hammok have announced they’re signing to Sargent House and gearing up to release their sophomore album. When Does This Place Become Our Scene arrives June 5. Lead single “The Scene,” which includes the lyric that the album gets its name from, comes with a Christoffer Bya-directed video that places the band outdoors and atop a clear sheet of plexiglass. Check it out below.
The new song came together while Hammok were on tour and questioning what it means to be a part of a local community. “Everything was sort of a natural response to how good the tour was going, and all the people we had met up to that point,” explained singer-guitarist Tobias Osland. “I wanted to capture and directly address the situation we were in – meeting people for the first time who give a shit about their community and the music around them.”
The Oslo-based trio of Osland, drummer Ferdinand Aasheim, and bassist Ole Benjamin Thomassen have been making a combination of punk, noise rock, and post-hardcore for nearly six years now. Hammok made their official debut in 2022 with the Jumping/Dancing/Fighting EP, and followed it up with their 2024 full-length album Look How Long Lasting Everything Is Moving Forward for Once.
When Does This Place Become Our Scene was produced entirely by Osland. Lyrically, the new album delves into the social politics of hardcore and its lineage, and what it means to come of age in the social media era. “A central idea was: What does it mean to be alone?” elaborated Osland. “Is it a strength? Do you feel a part of something? A community?”
Read The 20 Best Punk Movies and revisit the essay Hardcore Expanded Its Boundaries in 2023—and the Scene Embraced It.
When Does This Place Become Our Scene:
01 The Scene
02 Semi-Automatic Machines
03 Blast Off (Blast Off) Blast Off
04 Gooning for Free
05 Bang
06 Groundbreaker
07 Tap Water
08 CND
09 Thirst
10 When the Kids Are Too Old to Cause a Scene
11 Confidence of a Beaten Horse
12 For My Friends
