Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.07.2008, Side 24

24 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 08—2008
CONCERT REVIEW By nathaniel flagg — photo By gaSCD REVIEWS
The first thing I thought walking into the concert
was “God, what a lot of people.” Hraun, playing
at Rúbin this past Monday, managed to pack ev-
ery table with eager fans. So assured were they
of the quality of the music, I heard absolutely no
complaints when the band showed up onstage 50
minutes late. From there, we embarked on a trip
through every facet of the emotional spectrum.
We began at plaintive, then climbed to happy,
then switched to tortured angst, but then we
skipped quickly to comforting and then arrived
at catchy. To match the appropriate timbre, some
band members had to constantly change instru-
ments to keep up, putting down flutes to whip out
mandolins, only to toot on an oboe for the next
song. The audience didn’t miss a single cue. They
bobbed their heads at happy songs, furrowed
their brows at angry ones and looked sympa-
thetic at sad ones. If there’s one thing Hraun does
well, it is certainly accessibility.
Hraun’s clear intention is variety - “Painting
the emotional rainbow” in their words. Their
new album, which this concert largely featured,
represented a “journey from misery to redemp-
tion.” Yet, despite their claims of exploring the
emotional capacity of music, they really don’t try
very hard. As easily as we can classify “Happy”
and “Sad”, so can we categorise each one of their
songs only a few notes in. To delve into the expres-
sive capacity of music is a necessary prerequisite
for any musician, but for this rudimentary test,
Hraun is completely half-assing it. Their songs
seek only trite repetition of predigested themes.
The result is uninspired, unmoving, and ultimate-
ly uninteresting music, whose only strength is in
its ability to pander to stock emotions. If music is
a language, Hraun has the vocabulary of a three-
year old.
It’s no wonder then, that Hraun attracts a
large audience. It is unchallenging, pleasant
music with nothing to “get”. But even though the
show began with a full house, I noticed a steady
trickle on their way out as the concert pressed on.
After all, no matter how long we travelled through
those oh so different emotions; we just ended up
hearing the same old songs.
Just the Same Old Rainbow
Svavar knútur of hraun StrumS hiS guitar.
WhERE
Rúbín
WhEN
Monday, June 16
WhO
Hraun
ThE VERDICT
Despite all their enthu-
siasm to explore the full
capacity of emotional
expression in music,
Hraun’s work is disap-
pointingly shallow.
This is a beautiful record: simple as that. Barði Johannsson has taken
simplistic, synth infused melodies, wrapped each around blankets
of warm, comforting reverberated vocals and soft-spoken rhythmic
textures to create what is quite possibly the best Icelandic pop record
to emerge this year. But this is a quiet triumph, a record that unravels
more of itself with frequent listens, careful not to move too quickly
to pit mood over melody. It’s dark, painfully dark at times, but with
Bang Gang, it’s the ghosts that bellow, not the light that makes them
visible. From the beginning verse of ‘The World Is Grey’ through the
dark corridors of ‘I Know You Sleep’ and Postal Service-esque “You
Won’t Get Out’, a tune co-penned with Gonzales, this is a weighty, in-
cisive listen, one showcasing a heavyweight in Icelandic pop. Watch
out Mugison.
So who exactly is Dísa? Well, after several listens to the chanteuse’s
long-player, I cannot offer much to properly answer that question.
Still, in this case, it does not matter. Dísa experiments with haunting
Icelandic pop, Chamber folk, electronic blips and bleeps, cabaret
and off-kilter percussive textures while attempting to hold the fort
down with intelligent production techniques and childlike, sugges-
tive vocal work. At times it is glorious, especially in the first half of
the album from “Alien Symphony’ through ‘Final Call’. The last bit,
however, including the questionable nu-soul romp of ‘Equations’ and
too-ethereal exercise of ‘Heyr Mina Ben’ does not succeed, moving
too far from the singer’s pop-sopped comfort zone. Regardless, it is an
ambitious, multi-layered set built upon a voice that holds one’s own.
More focus may produce a gem next time around.
Bang Gang
Ghosts from the Past
Dísa
Dísa
reviewed By Shain Shapiro
reviewed By Shain Shapiro
More than ten thousand fingers have
played beautiful music on this piano, since
it arrived in Eyrarbakki village in 1871. It
was brought across the Atlantic on a large
merchantman, then hauled into a small
fishing boat and rowed ashore, where four
strong men carried it into the village in a
terrible rainstorm. But you can touch it
now in the Húsið museum in Eyrarbakki.
TEN THOUSAND FINGERS
Open May 15th - Sept. 15th: 11 - 18. Other times by arrangement. | www.husid.com