Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.06.2007, Page 22

RVK_GV_09_007_REVIEWS_76_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 09_007_REVIEWS/MUSIC/CDS
Take part in an adventure at sea with an unforgettable 3-hour
trip into the world of whales and sea birds.
Located in Reykjavik's old harbour, only a 5 minute walk from
the city centre.
A spacious double-deck and a special viewing area on the
third deck ensures a spectacular view into the deep blue sea.
Whales&Puffin Island
www.elding.is
or visitCall us on
555 3565
Elding Whale Watching, Reykjavík harbour
Tel: (+354) 555 3565, Fax: (+354) 554 7420
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Puffin season
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Reviews by Bart Cameron, Chandler Fredrick, Páll Hilmarsson, Sindri Eldon and Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
On their Myspace page, Bertel! claim that it “is a band of
many stages of technology.” This and the fact that they hail
from Seltjarnarnes just spells out “Rich Kids with Expensive
Equipment” to me. The quartet is probably influenced by the
likes of Scandinavian Nintendo dance-punk bands that you’re
simply not art-school enough to know about. The band re-
lies heavily on raging synthesizer arpeggios, gritty guitar, fast
dance beats and pretty good production. And it’s clear from
every track that the guys know their music: the compositions
are obviously complex and the overall performance is clean
and tight. Still, there’s just too much happening, and the vo-
cals are a definite weak point in the EP. Since it’s all about
the energy of the music itself, nothing about this 7 track EP
is particularly engaging. I’d be willing to wager my feet that
Bertel! is a phenomenal live band, but the CD format defi-
nitely doesn’t compact their energy. This EP simply soared
right past me. CF
This CD is almost worth half the price for the album design
alone. Helmus and Dalli are two guys who perform electronic
club music of some kind, even if they often sound as they are
trying not to be too serious about it. Apparently, they also
like ice cream a lot. And masks. And they have many friends
as well. Unfortunately, I think a great part of this CD will
be lost on most listeners. The beats are actually quite good,
and I found myself surprisingly entertained by their quirky
electronic/country music mix, despite their best efforts to
entertain with their humorous take on it. There is something
strangely attractive to listening to two clowns singing about
deep fried monkeys. I am certain that their live shows could
well be the stuff of legends in years to come. SBB
Helmus und Dalli
Drunk is Faster
Bertel!
Bertel!
Lay Low’s country blues is a breath of fresh air into Icelandic music life.
Especially considering the fact that girls of her age hardly ever produce
anything this original. Lay Low’s strength lies in composing fine tunes
but it’s the lyrical department that could use some quality control. Songs
mostly about love and regret with a fair bit of hymn-like lyrics that at
times suffer from the syndrome so many artists trying to express them-
selves in a non-native tongue suffer from – not knowing the language
they’re working with. But the songs are excellent, the production good
and the guitar playing fine. An honest, somewhat original (at least by
Icelandic standards) album that doesn’t sound like a debut at all, but the
work of an experienced artist. A fine CD. PH
Lay Low
Please Don’t Hate Me
Many visitors and fans of Iceland enjoy the film Screaming
Masterpiece, by Ari Alexander Magnússon. The film features
the best and brightest of Iceland’s “Cute Generation”, and
some of our staff were so repulsed by it that we ran a fea-
ture discussing how many things had to go wrong in the
world before this film came out. To Mr. Magnússon’s credit,
he documented a great number of extraordinary musicians,
among them Björk, Mugison, Sigur Rós, Bang Gang and Ap-
parat Organ Quartet. He also found the exact theme that
unites them... or the flaw. While all of these musicians can
be appreciated on their own, together, on one disk, they be-
came intolerable. So much cutey cute, so much sugar, and
you begin to hate the whole lot of them. If you are a fan of
any of the bands on this disk, avoid at all costs. BC
Various Artists
Screaming Masterpiece
Mugison’s sonic companion to Baltasar Kormákur’s most re-
cent attempt at filmmaking is rather like Ally Sheedy’s char-
acter in The Breakfast Club: Moody, tormented, dirty, unpre-
dictable and while occasionally so pretentiously quirky that
it makes one groan in exasperation, intriguing, inviting and
altogether something to smile about. Also interesting is the
album’s firm cock-rock opener, Go Blind, easily Mugison’s
best song yet and hopefully the shape of things to come for
him. SE
Mugison
Little Trip
Only because I’m a fan of Chameleons UK is that the Interpol rip-off trend
doesn’t piss me off. Some of it’s good, some of it sucks, but it’s all moody
and absolutely perfect for long car rides in the dark with the windows
down. The Swedish six-piece Exploding Boy definitely steals from the In-
terpol book (it even seems that Johan Sjöblom has won the verisimilitude
contest when it comes to Paul Banks’ voice), but not always in vain. I
would even say that parts of The Exploding Boy successful take up where
Interpol’s Turn On the Bright Lights left off. And though they don’t have
the genius guitar work that Interpol has, there are some shimmering
Ocean Rain-era Echo and The Bunnymen riffs on tracks like Cold Things
Start to Burn. The Exploding Boy have a lot of growing up to do, espe-
cially in the area of originality, but the moody song-writing is considerable
on their self-titled album. CF
The Exploding Boy
Self-Titled
There are several positive elements at work on this primal
release from rock/metal outfit Perfect Disorder. The rhythm
section sounds confident and capable, the guitar riffs sound
strong and the production level is high. Also, when I listened
to it in my car, it made me want to drive faster, which is a
good thing I guess. Overall, this is a solid and sturdy rock al-
bum, although it is not perfect. Singer Edward shows limited
range and the lyrics are overly simplistic, as they often tend
to be with Icelandic bands singing in English. Perfect Disorder
draws much of their inspiration from old-school metal, going
so far to add an instrumental song on here. The songs Velvet
Pussy and Delightful Exorcism are highlights, although the
minute-long hidden song after song 12 is a good addition,
and shows that the singer is capable of more. SBB
Perfect Disorder
White Trash Lullabies
Benni has been named Golden Boy of Icelandic pop in this
publication. Judging by his debut, released last year, the title
isn’t far off, winning two awards at last year’s Icelandic Mu-
sic Awards. The music sounds something like indie big-band
pop, with trumpets, acoustic guitar and horns playing a big
part, at times reminiscent of the ever-influential Belle and
Sebastian. Benni is a good songwriter, the melodies are in-
teresting but the album suffers from Benni’s singing, which
really isn’t strong enough. I struggle to imagine a time when
I would put this CD on, maybe as a prelude to some heavy
drinking and dancing with some party people of the cute
generation – it sounds as if it would be a lot of fun to see
performed live – but isn’t really suited for the home stereo.
Benni proves that he’s a talented songwriter and the band
performs well. It’s simply not the follow-up I was anticipat-
ing. PH
Benni Hemm Hemm
Kajak
NEW NEW
2006 NEWI
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2006
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