Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.12.2009, Blaðsíða 39

Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.12.2009, Blaðsíða 39
Icelandic 1 Afternoon classes Mon. Wed. and Thu. 17:15-18:45 From January 18th. to March 18th. 2010 Morning classes Tue. Fri. and Sat. 09:00-11:00 From January 19th. to March 4th. 2010 Icelandic 2 Evening classes Mon. Wed. and Thu. 19:00-20:30 From January 18th. to March 18th. 2010 Morning classes Mon. Wed. and Thu. 09:00-11:00 From January 18th. to March 3rd. 2010 Icelandic 3 Morning classes Mon. Wed. and Thu. 09:00-11:00 From March 8th. to April 28th. 2010 • Experienced teachers • Morning and evening classes • Downtown location • 3 levels • Modest-sized groups, max. 12 Ingólfsstræti 8 - 101 Reykjavík islenska@multi-kulti.org www.multi-kulti.org Telephones: 6928818 (Auður) 8996570 (Kjartan) Auður Loftsdóttir, MA Kjartan Jónsson, MA Learn Course price - 60 class hours: 24.000 Ískr. Like one of those moody hipsters that hangs in the background and mumbles a lot, Kimono are back with a new album! And the title is bloody awful! Easy Music For Difficult People is the sort of title that Nickleback would use when they ŕe trying to be edgy. However that´s the only bad thing I have to say about this album. I´ve heard the term “Progressive indie rock” coined for Kimono and it´s a pretty apt description. Think Shellac after they listened to too many mid-70´s Rush albums. This is most evident in “Black” and “Animal” where the vocal stylings are pure Jethro Tull. Compared to their last album, Easy is a lot more immediate and urgent. The drums sound more thunderous, the guitars are more guttural and growling, while the vocals are frantic and yelping (perhaps the producer got out his cattle prod “motivational tool”). And clocking in at under 30 minutes, it just socks you with baritone power and then finishes, saying “Call me” without leaving it´s number. But like the guitar rock slut that I am, it just makes me want to go back the beginning and play it again (and again)... - BoB ClUnESS A bit like visiting a museum with a class full of art students, Terminal is irritating, pretentious and occasionally grating, but mostly just a soothing and smoothly flowing waste of time. Its massive, almost hyperbolic grandeur is a bit hard to take seriously up close, with the orchestral arrangements failing to ascend beyond the role of redundant accompaniment and never quite justifying their presence on the album. Terminal’s cool detachment and civility all too often feels false and postured, like Hjaltalín would much rather be making some other kind of music, but there are moments, like Song From Incidental Music and Sonnet For Matt (what terrible titles), where the mood feels real and appropriate and the band seems truly comfortable. It is those moments I’ll be listening for during the endless tirade of Christmas parties I’ll be forced to hear this album in. - SindRi Eldon Morðingjarnir Bloodgroup kimono Hjaltalín Flóttinn Mikli (2009) Dry Land (2009) Easy Music for difficult People (2009) Terminal (2009) kimono Moody Icelandic indie rock comes of age hjaltalinband Like being put on hold by your bank, but interesting. Morðingjarnir have been together for nearly five years, which in punk/ hardcore terms means that they’re becoming grizzled old warhorses of the scene. And their third album sees them slowly moving away from the core sound of their first two albums. The songs are now on average 1.5 minutes longer, there’s a lot less screaming, and their sound is much more buffed and polished with a big powerpop cherry on top. Is this a bad thing? I guess it depends on what your punk/hardcore references are. If you think the crowning zenith of punk is Green Day, then you´ll go apeshit for it, otherwise you may just go “meh.” As for me, I found this album really frustrating to listen to. For each track such as the full on Mötorhead thrash of Förum í stríð and the scuzzy romp of Manvísa, there is the derivative Hlakka til að hitta þig and the asine Sunnudagsmorgunn í Reykjavík which has a chorus that I would have expected from Sprengjuhöllin (no no NOOOO!). Perhaps I’m just an old stick in the mud in wanting my punk to be angry and misanthropic instead of being wrapped in Prozac goo... - BoB ClUnESS While Bloodgroups´ first album was brash, in your face and full of day-glo E numbers, Dry Land sees them relax and breath in a bit more. The chickenfart gurgling synths and minimal beats are still there, but now they ŕe seriously working their songwriting chops to great effect. Listening to this, you sense whispers and echoes of 80´s synth pop (Wars) with layers of disco dub (How Do We Know). But it´s the lead tracks that blow you away. My Arms is simply an excellent song, end of discussion (it does seem to remind me of XTC´s Making Plans for Nigel for some reason). And First To go starts off with a full on EBM beat that dissolves into a chorus that interlocks vocals and synthesizer beats so perfectly, it makes your ears throb with pleasure. You know after listening to this I saw the video to Thin Ice by Gus Gus and, compared to Dry land, it looked so.... tired! A case of the Kings are dead, long live the Queen? - BoB ClUnESS mordingjarnir Still plenty of energy, but they’re starting to get soft & mellow in their old age.... bloodgroup It struts! It stomps! It shits all over the competition! Get this album and your life will be complete for the next six months Music | Album Reviews The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 18 — 2009 23 “The chickenfart gurgling synths and minimal beats are still there, but now theý re seriously working their songwriting chops to great effect. "

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