Norwegian alternative rock band Kalandra have shared ‘A Ship Has Left The Shore’, the final single from their third album, The Other Side. The album is out on 13 November through By Norse Music.
The single is about losing someone dear to you. It came from an idea by Jogeir Daae Mæland, who wrote the lyrics with vocalist Katrine Stenbekk after the death of a close family friend. The song takes its time, building patiently on haunting vocals and piano and letting its grief come through quietly.
“Much of the album explores what happens as we drift off to sleep, the space between consciousness and dreams, and the worlds we encounter when we let go,” the band explain. “A Ship Has Left the Shore takes us somewhere else entirely: to the other side of life, and to the profound question of how we cope with death and the absence of those we love.”
The Other Side is a concept album about dreaming. Before writing began, the band started dream journalling, keeping notebooks by the bed and jotting down fragments the moment they woke. “It’s been very helpful to write down my dreams,” says Katrine. “It definitely affected how I wrote lyrics.” Faroese singer Elinborg guests on ‘Animal’, which at 136 BPM is proof, the band joke, that they can write an upbeat song after all.
Kalandra formed while the core members were studying at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Their 2020 debut The Line has passed 54 million streams. It was followed by the Kingdom Two Crowns: Norse Lands game soundtrack and 2024’s A Frame Of Mind.
The band will also head out on their biggest European headline tour to date in spring 2027, with New Zealand singer-songwriter Finnegan Tui as special guest. The UK dates are:
2 March: Bristol, Trinity
3 March: Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
4 March: Glasgow, SWG3 (listed as “Slay” in the press release)
5 March: Manchester, Academy 2
6 March: London, Islington Assembly Hall
There’s something special about Kalandra, who sound ancient and modern all at once. A whole album built from dreams suits them perfectly, and ‘A Ship Has Left The Shore’ is a beautiful, heartbreaking taste of what’s coming. Guitarist Florian says he won’t be happy until they’ve done “a Rammstein-sized show”. We’d buy a ticket.
The Other Side will be available on black vinyl, limited edition coloured vinyl, digibook and digital. Tour tickets are on sale now.
