Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.10.2008, Blaðsíða 16

16 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 16—2008
CoNCERT REvIEW BY fLoRIAn züHLKe— pHoTo BY gASCD REvIEWS
As an avid Kyuss fan, I went to Cafe Amsterdam
with mixed expectations this evening. On the
one hand, I was looking forward to see a parti-
cular member of the group playing live; but then
again, disappointment is never far away when you
enter a show with such high hopes. Fortunately,
everything went fine.
Let’s start from at beginning: the opener of
the night was Krummi (Mínus) and Daníel's (Gus-
Gus) new band, Esja. Their bluesy Western sound
fit very well into this evening's desert rock line-up
that practically forced people to come in with cow-
boy hats and spurs. Esja's powerful beginning of
their driving set started off well for half an hour.
However, after that the set seemed to lose its way
with dreary mid-tempo songs.
When Brain Police started, the room was
packed. The band was already being celebrated
before they even began playing. Their show thri-
lled the frenetic crowd, sometimes a little too
much (did that girl in the first row really lick the
singer's sweaty belly?). They served amazing 45
minutes of billowing vapour of sound. The whole
place was vibrating during their set; I don’t know if
it was their guitar and bass sound that caused the
window next to me crack, but surely, it could have!
As a bow to Brant Bjork, they played Kyuss's “100
Degrees” as the penultimate song, which brought
the euphoria in the audience to its zenith.
Brant Bjork and the Bros. did a rollicking
good job headlining, as their dusty 70s rock was
a gnarly hybrid between hypnotic stoner tunes
and harder Jimi Hendrix-style riffs which led one
patron to become the first stage diver I have seen
here in Iceland. Okay, it was his third try and he got
carried out of the venue after he had fallen off the
stage when he tried for his fourth drunken time;
but still, I will remember the third! BBB even came
back for an encore after their one-and-a-half hour
set. So in summary, everybody had fun.
Desertification Way up North
tHis guY greW uP among rattle snaKes in tHe desert. to Him tHe Word oasis aCtuallY Has a PositiVe meaning.
Who
Esja
Brain Police
Brant Bjork and the Bros
WhERE
Amsterdam
WhEN
Saturday, September 27
ThE vERDICT
Grand revelry in honour
of Wahwah...
It's very scary when a contemporary band sound like seasoned pro-
fessionals from another decade, like when Scissor Sisters wail home
about the dear 1980's. It's even more terrifying when a new band are
a carbon copy of a carbon copy and the Motion Boys sound a lot
like the Scissor Sisters. Of course there are a lot of other acts you can
throw into the cauldron like Elton John or Wham and mix it together
in one big sickly, cheesy poison. The trouble is you want to slurp up
a bit more because you know it's bad for you and it becomes addic-
tive. Even if 'Hold Me Closer To Your Heart' and 'Five To Love' have
a couple of girly squeals that make you want to stand in front of the
mirror singing into a pink glittery hairbrush, it would be much better
to do this to Prince who knew the true essence of the 1980's a lot bet-
ter than these boys do.
With “Karkari,” this young quintet from Reykjavík basically follows
the same direction they started on their self-titled debut two years
ago. Their fundamentals – guitar-based indie-rock – have stayed the
same but the body of their work seems to be less experimental. It is
catchy melodies (like right at the beginning in the refrain of the open-
er “Endir”) that set this album's character apart. This does not make
“Karkari” a superficial pop-record. The songs are still complex, some-
times eccentric, and packed with ideas. It just gives you the feeling
that the band got better and more to the point. The earthy production
underlines the strong points of this band – primarily, the outstanding
singing and excellent guitar work. The album also has a few short-
comings, for example, the quite lame “Dyradóttir” or the subsequent
title-track with its somehow half-baked motif. However, apart from
such smaller flaws, “Karkari” is a very, very good indie-rock record.
MoTioN BoYS
Hang On
MAMMÚT
Karkari
RevIeweD BY MARcuS wALSH
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
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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
The lights are broken on
the 80's disco ball
lISTEN
www.myspace.com/
motionboys
ThE vERDICT
Very good indie record
with a few flaws

lISTEN
www.myspace.com/
mammut