Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.09.2008, Blaðsíða 20

20 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 14—2008
CONCERT REVIEW BY oDDuR STuRLuSon — pHoTo BY gASCD REVIEWS
Having high expectations is an almost sure-fire
way to be let down and when I entered Rúbín
for the Sebastien Tellier concert my expectations
were sky-high. When I first heard his newest al-
bum, Sexuality, it awoke in me a strong, inexplica-
ble urge to visit a shady café, find a scrumptious
young au-pair and invite her back to my house for
a grimey party for two (unfortunately for me Re-
ykjavík is sadly lacking in savoury young nannies
who frequent dubious establishments waiting
for bored young men to woo them). The album
left me with a strong sense of excitement and
optimism for the upcoming concert. I was not let
down.
Warming up was Óttar Proppé, dj-ing some
slow tunes. The atmosphere was very peculiar by
Icelandic standards. People were rather orderly,
only moderately drunk and romance lay in the air
like a heavy smog over the room. I was surroun-
ded on all sides by couples who switched bet-
ween cradling each other and tongue wrestling.
Although such nauseating displays of affection
usually bring forth a pessimistic bitterness in me,
they became bearable if not downright romantic
after Tellier came on stage. Smoking and drinking
on stage and telling jokes between songs with that
irresistible French accent of his, he had the crowd
hanging on to his every word. “Zee next song is
about love, ovcoorse, betwean mahn and… rho-
bot”. Honestly, could this man be any cooler? Sho-
ving the microphone into his underwear and then
licking it furiously, slowly unbuttoning his pants
and letting the crow caress him. Under any other
circumstances people would avoid middle-aged,
bearded men caressing themselves in public. But
this was special. Magical even. This was Sébas-
tien Tellier.
Sébastien and his band of über-hip Franks
played together beautifully and gave the crowd
exactly what they wanted. Calm yet danceable,
grimey while at the same time sophisticated, Te-
llier is not just another Daft Punk wannabe but
rather a worthy heir, taking Parisian electro in a
new, erotic direction.
Tellier: The French Eargasm
FreNch sex sYmBol seBastiaN tellier
WHO
Sebastian Tellier
WHERE
Rúbín
WHEN
Thursday, August 28
THE VERDICT
Paris electro returns in
a sexy manner
This record is preceded by its reputation. Before it was even released,
British Kerrang selected “As we Sleep” as one of the 50 must-have al-
bums in 2008. And the sound of the four young guys is actually catch-
ing. While settled somewhere between the epic gravity of bands like
ISIS and the fragility of Sigur Rós, We Made God manage to establish
their own sound, which is primarily characterized by their wide, me-
lodic guitars and Maggi’s eclectic vocals. I also like their powerful
drums, though they sound a little artificial on this record. That “As we
sleep” is not in my personal Top 50 list is owed to fact that the songs
sometimes still sound slightly awkward, including small instrumental
misplays. This does not destroy the album, which is quite good, and
shows the promise of this young band. But for a perfect record We
Made God will need some more grinding.
After having just released At the Borders of Arcadia in May, which
generated all around good reviews, Reykjavík's Celestine already
serve the follow-up. Like the forerunner, they present sludgy Metal-
core – in the vein of Coalesce, early Converge or ISIS – as hard-hitting
and heavy as being run over by the bus. What makes Celestine re-
ally outstanding is their ability to intersperse subtle melodies, thus
keeping their monotonously pounding songs from getting boring.
The same is true for the two voices that bring variety in the otherwise
quite monosonic (though perfectly fitting) singing. The only thing
that keeps “This Home Will Become our Grave” behind its predeces-
sor is the quite flat recording. Apart from that, this is a fiery and dis-
turbing 30-minute trip into the dark. The perfect nihilistic soundtrack
to wreck your place to: Who Cares Anyway?
WE MadE God
As we sleep
CElESTinE
This Home Will be Our Grave
RevIeweD BY FLoRIAn ZüHLKe
RevIeweD BY FLoRIAn ZüHLKe
SURTSEY – GENESIS
Multimedia exhibition on a new volcanic island
MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS – EDDAS AND SAGAS
The ancient vellums on display
THE LATE VIEW
Halldór Laxness’ private photographs
A
uð
ur
, G
ljú
fr
as
te
in
n.
P
ho
to
: H
al
ld
ór
L
ax
ne
ss
, 1
95
5
©
H
al
ld
ór
L
ax
ne
ss
’ F
am
ily
EXHIBITIONS - GUIDED TOURS
CAFETERIA - CULTURE SHOP
The Culture House – Þjóðmenningarhúsið
National Centre for Cultural Heritage
Hverfi sgata 15 · 101 Reykjavík (City Centre)
Tel: 545 1400 · www.thjodmenning.is
Open daily between 11 am and 5 pm
Free guided tour of THE MEDIEVAL MANU SCRIPTS
exhibition Mondays and Fridays at 3:30 pm.
THE VERDICT
This record shows the talent
of this young band - but it
also reveals its deficits.
lISTEN & BuY
www.myspace.com/
wemadegod
THE VERDICT
Half an hour of really bad
tempered sludgecore.
lISTEN & BuY
www.myspace.com/
celestinemusic