Heavy, sprawling and endlessly inventive. Trust Us is Motorpsycho’s 1998 album: an ambitious double-album that captured the band at the peak of their alternative-rock powers.

The short version

The 1998 double album by Norwegian band Motorpsycho, and a high point of their heavier, alternative-rock era. Spread across two discs, it ranges from punchy, hook-filled rock songs to long, exploratory jams, all delivered with muscular energy and rich, detailed production. Hard to pin down and impossible to fault, it blends alternative rock grit, psychedelic drift and progressive ambition into a generous, rewarding whole. It stands as one of the essential albums of the band’s prolific early catalogue.

Peak alternative-rock

Formed in Trondheim in 1989 around Bent Saether and Hans Magnus Ryan, Motorpsycho spent the 1990s releasing a steady stream of acclaimed, ever-evolving records. Trust Us — made by the core trio of Saether, Ryan and drummer Hakon Gebhardt, with a cast of guest players on strings, saxophone and more — arrived as one of their heaviest and most confident statements. The band famously ran every sound through a studio PA to capture its raw, live-in-the-room energy. It remains a fan favourite from a remarkably fertile period.

The sound

Trust Us is hard-hitting, alternative prog rock, heavy and hook-driven yet full of adventure. Big riffs, propulsive grooves and soaring melodies power its punchier songs, while its longer pieces stretch out into hypnotic, psychedelic jamming. Guest violin, saxophone and French horn add unexpected colour, and the album’s warm, spacious production gives everything real weight and presence. It moves effortlessly between immediacy and exploration — heavy alternative rock one moment, drifting psychedelia the next — capturing a band firing on all cylinders.

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The songs

‘Ozone’ is an irresistible highlight, a punchy, melodic single that shows the band’s pop instincts at their sharpest. ‘Vortex Surfer’ is a genuine classic — so beloved that a Norwegian radio station named it ‘song of the millennium.’ And the sweeping ‘The Ocean in Her Eye’ is a nine-minute highlight, building patiently from delicate beginnings to a soaring climax.

Reception and legacy

Trust Us was warmly received and has endured as one of Motorpsycho’s most beloved records — a definitive statement of their heavier, alternative-rock side. ‘Vortex Surfer’ in particular became something of an anthem, its status cemented by that ‘song of the millennium’ accolade. For many fans it is a gateway album and a career highlight, capturing the band at their most powerful, tuneful and adventurous before they began exploring gentler, more orchestral territory.

The verdict

Trust Us is Motorpsycho at their hard-hitting best: ambitious, heavy alternative rock that balances punchy songs with sprawling, psychedelic exploration. Come for the irresistible ‘Ozone’ and the classic ‘Vortex Surfer.’ Heavy, tuneful and generous in scope, it is essential listening for anyone who likes their rock powerful, adventurous and full of ideas — and one of the finest entry points into the early catalogue of one of Norway’s greatest bands.

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