Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2012, Blaðsíða 35

35 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2012MuSIC
Album
Reviews
MADE IN ICELAND www.jswatch.com
With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
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Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
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The only kitchen
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Starts with a shot of the infamous
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Smoked puffin with blueberry
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Minke Whale with cranberry-sauce
White chocolate "Skyr" mousse
with passion coulis
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THE FRESHEST FISH ....AND IDEAS!
SKÓLAVÖRÐUSTÍGUR 14 - 101 REYKJAVÍK - 571 1100
After years of study,
strings of awards and
having led kitchens of
some of Reykjavík’s most
esteemed restaurants,
Gústav still sees him
self as just a kid from
up north, with a life-
time passion for fish.
Contalgen Funeral
Pretty Red Dress
2012
www.gogoyoko.com/album/
pretty_red_dress

Torturous blues indeed....
‘Pretty Red Dress,’ the debut album from Contalgen Funeral,
is definitely one of the most laughable pieces of wannabe
bluescore posturing I’ve seen and heard in quite a while. The
whole album, from the cover art to songs such as “Crack Cocaine,”
“Bottom Of The Bottle” and “Not Dead Yet,” trades in every lame
deprivation-porn blues stereotype going. Homeless and alone? Check!
Drinking yourself to death? Got that! Drug abuse? They’ll suck a dick for
crack cocaine!
At first I thought this had to be a glorious pisstake or some kind of
twisted blues parody, but if it is then it’s not a very good one. And singer/
songwriter Andri Már Sigurðsson has previous form on tortured blues
with his other band, Joe Dubius. Constantly wailing and hurring, he’s
desperate to be seen as a bit of a Tom Waits/Seasick Steve style hard-
bitten chronicler of hard times, yet is so cornball from the outset, you
wince with every line (the closest he’s probably come to a needle in his
arm was when he got his inoculations from the doctor).
If you believe that playing folksy-swingy-blues whilst wearing old
oversized suits somehow grants some kind of vague esoteric knowledge
and gravitas to whatever crap is being sung, then I’m sure you’ll love this.
Otherwise, this will offer little more than some unintentional laughs.
- BOB CLuNESS
Rafsteinn
Rebirth
2012
www. chingchingblingbling.com/
album/rebirth
The music equivalent of
swapping coke light for a
shot of vodka
In a break from their usual psychedelic/garage rock recordings
on offer from Ching Ching Bling Bling, this five-track EP from
artist Hafsteinn M. Guðmundsson (who looks like a Stasi claims
adjuster on the cover art) is a short, sharp burst of delightfully brooding
darkwave, complete with one-word song titles and bleak aesthetics.
Tracks like “Black” have droning synths and simple nodding beats that
recall those early ’80s minimal wave bedroom recordings, but with a
more expansive touch to the production. It may not break new ground,
but at least it’s the antithesis of the usual sparkly krútt-pop that people
have become used to.
So if you need a little something for when you’re standing at
the harbour, looking out to sea on a grey, shitty day, this comes
recommended - BOB CLuNESS
Mike Pollock
Universal Roots
2012
Pollock deserves his place
in Icelandic rock history
and proves he still has
much to offer decades
after the death of punk
Something of a legend on the Reykjavík scene since the punk
era, Mike Pollock seems to stake his claim as king of the blues
too, as he rambles around from Congo Square to Amsterdam,
searching for love or whiskey. “Walking” and “Searching” set the
tone while “You tore me up but you won’t tear me down” is as good
a breakup/hangover statement as any. The original tracks stand their
ground, but the album peaks midway through with a groggy rendition of
“Voodoo Chile,” followed by the Megas’ collaboration “Mary” and a slow,
wistful spin on his own classic “It’s A Shame,” which was last heard 30
years ago with his punk group Utangarðsmenn. After all the sadness and
desperation rendered by an outsider who has given his life to rock and
roll, the old chestnut “Sunnyside” provides welcome relief at the end.
Even if the packaging might seem a bit homemade, this is well worth the
price of admission. Mike is truly timeless. - VALuR GuNNARSSON