Meet CURBZ: The Norwegian newcomers turning heads before their first-ever release. Most bands release music before getting noticed. CURBZ did it the other way around.
Before releasing a single song, Norwegian newcomers CURBZ have already caught the attention of international music industry professionals, built a growing following and started making waves on the live circuit. Now, the five-piece are finally ready to unleash their debut single, “Zhuggah”, on October 23, accompanied by an official music video.
Listen to the single here: https://ffm.to/zhuggah
What started with five friends from Norway’s west coast making music together has developed into something much bigger. As their demos began circulating, word spread, and the band started attracting interest from both music fans and industry professionals. Their growing presence on social media and early live performances helped build anticipation for a band whose music had yet to be officially released.
That interest soon reached beyond Norway. CURBZ caught the attention of an international management company and booking agency whose rosters include artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Cigarettes After Sex and Guns N’ Roses.
On stage, CURBZ have already begun making their mark. The band have performed at by:Larm, one of the Nordic region’s leading showcase festivals, where they also earned a Breakthrough Artist nomination. They’ve supported Norwegian alternative rock favourites brenn. at major venues in Oslo and Trondheim, with upcoming appearances supporting The Good The Bad and The Zugly and at Norwegian showcase festival Trondheim Calling in February 2027.
Musically, CURBZ draw inspiration from bands like Turnstile and Drug Church, blending the raw intensity of hardcore and alternative rock with influences ranging from indie and rap to pop. Heavy guitars and infectious melodies meet an unmistakable sense of fun, as the band move between aggression and playfulness. Unconcerned with fitting into any particular genre, CURBZ follow their own instincts, creating a sound that’s as unpredictable as it is catchy.
“We think the fact that we’re genuinely just friends who love playing music together creates something authentic that people connect with. At the end of the day, we just want to make music we think is great. It’s incredibly cool to see this much interest before we’ve even released anything. We guess it just means what we’ve made is actually pretty cool,” the band say.
Now, CURBZ are finally ready to let the music speak for itself.
Anything but a modest debut
On October 23, listeners finally got to hear what all the attention has been about.
With their debut single “Zhuggah”, CURBZ put that genre-blurring approach into practice. Fast-paced and hard-hitting, the track combines driving guitars and the urgency of hardcore with an almost pop-like sense of melody. There’s a deliberate precision beneath the chaos, with sharp instrumental interplay and hooks designed to stay with you long after the song ends. It’s an introduction that captures both sides of CURBZ: their appetite for pushing things further and their ability to make heavy moments feel irresistibly catchy.
The title “Zhuggah” is a twisted take on the English word “sugar”. According to the band, the original spelling simply felt too tame for a song that refuses to hold anything back. Lyrically, the track draws on the experience of navigating life in your twenties, while musically, it’s a deliberate attempt to push everything one step further.
“For us, music is all about energy, and ‘Zhuggah’ is the perfect track to capture the energy we want to put out into the world. It’s fast, but at the same time very precise, both lyrically and instrumentally. We haven’t tried to hold anything back. Instead, we’ve pushed everything forward and turned it up. That’s kind of the whole point of ‘Zhuggah’,” the band explain.
The track was produced by Esteban Muñoz, better known as bob junior, who played a key role in the international success of Norwegian indie-pop sensation boy pablo and has also worked with artists including Cuco and Astrid S. While his credits are rooted in a different musical world, the collaboration reflects CURBZ’s openness to influences beyond the traditional boundaries of rock and hardcore. The track was mixed by Kim Lillestøl and mastered by Matias Tellez, whose credits include girl in red, AURORA and Gracie Abrams.
“Zhuggah” marks the beginning of CURBZ’s story, and while the band are keeping their next moves under wraps for now, their ambitions are clear. For the five friends, it’s all about making music they genuinely believe in, without being confined by genres or expectations, and above all, bringing that music to life on stage.
“The most important thing for us is getting out there, playing live and showing people the music we’ve made with the energy these songs were meant to have. We really just hope people think it’s cool, listen to the music and come to our shows!”
Live dates:
31 October 2026 – Kulturhuset, Bergen, Norway (supporting The Good The Bad and The Zugly)
5 February 2027 – Trondheim Calling, Trondheim, Norway
CURBZ are Peder Naustdal (vocals), Håkon Høydal (guitar), Andreas Espelund (guitar), Olaf Gloppen (drums) and Jakob Hagen (bass). The band hail from Nordfjordeid and Førde on Norway’s west coast.
