By Carlos Ramirez |
@noechonet |
9.7.2026
Que Lindo began in 2023 as Oslo musician Erik Lindo’s solo project. His original plan was simple: record a 10-minute demo inspired by Negative Approach, Siege, and Darkthrone, then move on.
But when Australia’s Urge Records picked up the demo, Lindo pulled together a full lineup, and they stayed playing shows. “After COVID, a lot of people in Oslo were eager for something new to happen,” Lindo tells No Echo. “The scene shifted from crust/d-beat oriented bands to an ’80s hardcore sound, which was much more my thing. After seeing local bands like Problems, Assistert Sjølmord, and Asinin, I felt an itch to start my own band.”
On their self-titled debut LP, Que Lindo moves past the raw edge of their first demo. The vocalist calls the current sound an odd mix of clean-cut ’80s US and Norwegian hardcore, early grindcore, and metropolitan garage rock from the 2010s.
In terms of specific influences, Lindo name-drops Glue, Hank Wood and the Hammerheads, Dawn of Humans, and Institute. “They have an element of garage rock and oddly melodic guitar playing that comes through every once in a while,” he says. “Crisis is another huge influence in the songwriting, Christian Death too. They both have those twangy single-note guitar lines that still sound really fresh.”
Que Lindo LP by Que Lindo
The LP was written and recorded in 2024, tracked live in Que Lindo’s rehearsal space. Lindo added guitar and vocals afterward and mixed the record himself. Will Killingsworth mastered it. Before its wider release on Oslo label Hjerneklikk, an early version appeared on 50 cassettes during the band’s 2025 Japanese tour.
“When the live band finally came together, the sound changed quite a bit. Things got cleaner and less chaotic, and for better or worse we sounded more like a rock ‘n’ roll band,” Lindo explains. “For the LP I wanted to move towards the freedom and confusion that happens when new genres emerge. The move from punk to hardcore or the move from hardcore to grindcore, or whatever you call what Siege did.”
Photo: Bjørn-Nicklas Myrvang
The band’s drive to experiment extends to their politics. Lindo sings in both Norwegian and English, taking on topics like environmental destruction, militarization, the erosion of welfare systems, and free-market capitalism. “Ideally, music with leftist radical ideas should be radical as well. It seems counterintuitive to play an ’80s traditionalist version of hardcore when we really want to push the politics of everyday life in a new direction,” he says. “So we try to match the deconstruction and experimentation of the politics of the lyrics with the music.”
Lindo points to Draumar, Assistert Sjølmord, AG-3, Null Tone, Teppebombe, and Asinin as standouts from Oslo’s current scene. He describes Asinin’s new tape as spaced-out hardcore punk that sounds off like it was made by deviants.
Photo: @meekmod
Que Lindo has already recorded another 7″ for 2027. Lindo hints that more post-punk and rock ‘n’ roll will shape the band’s future sound. A European tour is planned for next spring, with a second trip to Japan set for November.
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Que Lindo’s self-titled LP is out now on Bandcamp and will reach streaming services, except Spotify, on September 18.
Tagged: que lindo
About the Author
Carlos Ramirez
Owner of No Echo, Carlos Ramirez has played in the bands Black Army Jacket, Hope Collapse, and Deny the Cross. Born and raised in Queens, NY, Carlos resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids.