Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.12.1992, Side 18

18 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 11. desember 1992
The New Sugar Cubes
(L-R) Bragi Olafson, Þor Eldon, Magga Ornólfsdóttir, Siggi Baldursson,
Einar Örn Benediktson, Björk Guömundsdóttir.
By Colin Trygvason
Iceland has always been known
for its volcano of talent when it
comes to the arts, especially in lit-
erary endeavors. It has however not
produced a dominant force in terms
of a popular music band as Sweden
has twice - most recently in the 90s
with the smooth pop sounds of
Roxette and throughout the 70s with
Abba, a household name. Bursting
through the molten lava of the
Icelandic ‘underground’ music scene
have come the Sugar Cubes, who
have just recently completed a tour as
the back-up band for U2, currently
one of the world’s most successful
bands. With this outstanding accom-
plishment and two successful albums
under their belts, the exposure neces-
sary for them to emerge as a major act
of the 90s has begun to surface.
The new horizon for the Sugar
Cubes (Icel. Sukur Mólinar) did not
come without a few hard knocks.
Although they broke some important
ground with the hit single, “Birthday”
releascd in 1989 on their first album
“Life’s Too Good,” their second
album released two years ago was not
successful. It was panncd by music
critics, some of whom praised the first
album with accolades. Some within
thc ranks of the media went so far as
to sound the death knell for a young
band that had not yet reached its
prime. One pop critic in Germany
wrote, “Now that the exotic bonus of
coming from Iceland is over, the
Sugar Cubes can stop wasting our
time.”
After having experienced both an
initial honeymoon with and subse-
quent bitter divorce from the nurtur-
ing arms of the media, the Sugar
Cubes have become extrovertedly
wary of them. One member referred
to the rock magazine ‘Spin’ as
‘Spleen’ and this funny-but-sarcastic
witticism was included in the article
and which was available around the
globc.
If they are not an easy interview
now, it appears that they have their
reasons. Guitarist Thor Eldon has
related that he once took an
American joumalist to several bars in
Reykjavik in order to show him which
places “he would not get beaten up
in.” A few days later the journalist
had written a story in a large
American newspaper which depicted
Thor unfairly as an intolerable drunk.
The press has also come up with
several catch phrases in trying to
describe the Sugar Cubes. The most
common ones are “Elfín”- in trying to
dcscribe their Icelandic features,
“Exotic” - rcferring mainly to the geo-
graphical splendor of their homeland
(as though every Icelandic band
sounds as original as they do), and
“Comedians” - referring to some of
Continued on page 19
Gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár
Greetings to all our lcelandic friends -
Merry Christmas
Bothwell Cheese
A Tradifion
The people of New Bothwell share in
one of the finest Culinary Traditions of
our times.
Bothwell cheese has been enjoyed
for a period of 50 years and has
become a national success. With
time it has become more enriched
and through diversification Bothwell
has developed other specialty cheeses
to add to their famous cheddar.
Bothwell Cheese
New Bothwell, Manitoba. George A. Doan
Telephone: 388-4666 388-4906 General Manager
Tupper & Adams
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