The crazy blues stoner rockers Masheena from Norway are back with a fourth single "Riffy" from their upcoming album "Let The Spiders In". Which will be the bands second album, due for release on the April 10th, with a UK tour booked for the end of April and more shows planned in 2026, it looks to be a busy year for the Bergen quartet.
Some bands have that song—the one that captures the things happening during recording. The classic example is
Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, documenting a casino fire on Lake Geneva during a
Frank Zappa show. Another is
A Quick Death in Texas by Clutch, written on the spot and inspired by the surroundings while recording at The Machine Shop in Texas.
Riffy is Masheena’s entry into that lineage.
The song was born out of the band’s full Texas experience—traveling to Austin, living there, and recording just outside the city in Dripping Springs. The lyrics pull directly from what happened around the band: late-night conversations with their landlord about her growing up in old Austin with Roky Erickson, and crossing paths with Lester Bangs in the 1970s. There were tattoos at Rock of Ages Tattoo, drag shows, barbecues, and an unexpected meeting with the drummer from King Crimson over smoked meat and beers.
El Profesor aka bass player Tarjei elaborates:
“I started going to Austin around 2012, and I immediately fell in love with the place. The people — big beards, tattoos, Hawaiian shirts and friendly smiles. The food was insane: barbecue, Mexican food, cheap beer with a hipster edge. My first visit was during SXSW, but I quickly realized I preferred Austin outside the festival. That’s when the city really breathes.”
Austin has changed. The skyline is different now, the city reshaped by an influx of tech money and new residents. Still, pockets of the old spirit remain. Spend an evening at Continental Club or C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, as the band did, strike up conversations with longtime locals, and you’ll find that the original Keep Austin Weird mentality is still alive. These things didn’t just inspire Riffy - they set the vibe for the whole album.
Riffy is Masheena’s love letter to Austin—the one that still exists between the glass towers and startup offices. A song about place, memory, and the strange magic that can still happen when a band leaves home, plugs in, and lets the surroundings shape the music.
https://www.masheena.rocks/
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