Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2012, Qupperneq 37

Sudden Weather Change
Sculpture
2012
www.suddenweatherchange.com

Campy indie rockers gone
gloomy
In conversation with myself the other day, I proposed that scene
darlings Sudden Weather Change don’t sound excited or fun
anymore and that ‘Sculpture’ is the antithesis of the band’s
lauded live shows. This was an observation, not to be mistaken for a
complaint.
Like all good bands, SWC are moving forward, challenging
themselves. Whether the fans of their older material are up for the
challenge remains to be seen, but I suspect SWC aren’t preoccupied with
expectations because this new album is clearly not intended for summer
barbecues or nights on the town. Indeed, it’s bleak and sombre. The
soundscape is desolate, sparse, fragile and naked. There are no obvious
hooks or slam-dunk choruses to baby the listener.
On the contrary, ‘Sculpture’ is uncomfortable and cumbersome. It’s
honest. As is the case with honesty, it can be difficult and unpleasant.
Honesty is such a lonely word and ‘Sculpture’ sounds so fucking lonely.
It’s like a death scene. Your morbid curiosity makes you watch. Either
you’re repulsed or you brave it and get closer. In this case, the latter
applies.
‘Sculpture’ must be enjoyed as a whole. It’s reverb-y and noisy.
A ride that is as nervous as it is pretty. It’s teetering on the edge,
threatening to fall apart and lose you, but its hands shoot out of the dark
water to drag you down into the deep again. And you wouldn’t have it
any other way. - BIRkIR FjALAR VIðARSSON
sushisamba
Þingholtsstræti 5 • 101 Reykjavík
Tel 568 6600 • sushisamba.is
Laugavegur
HverfisgataL
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Sk
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la
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ræ
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Þ
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kó
lavö
rð
ust.
Amtmannsstígur
In
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lf
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Lækjar-
torg
Our kitchen is open
17.00–23.00 sun.–thu.
17.00–24.00 fri.–sat.
Starts with a shot of icelandic
nacional spirit "Brennivin"
Place Ceviche
Dried maize, sweet potato, coriander, chili,
passion sauce
Minke whale tataki
Fig jam, wakame, mushrooms, soy glaze
Icelandic Salmon roll
Salmon, avocado, asparagus, jalapeno mayo
Spotted cat fish "mojito style"
Grilled spotted cat fish, pea purée, bacon,
mojito foam
Lamb ribs
Chili crumble, "Skyr" mint sauce, celeriac fries
Icelandic Skyr "Flan"
5.990 kr.
Amazing 6 course menu which combines
Icelands best produce withJapanese,
Peruvian and Brazilian cuisine.
Icelandic Feast
unique experience
37 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2012MuSIC
Album
Reviews
Ghostigital
Division Of Culture And Tourism
2012
www.ghostigital.com
Still crazy music after all
these years
Six years after their sophomore LP, ‘In Cod We Trust,’ the boys
from Ghostigital are back with a new offering: ‘Division Of
Culture & Tourism.’ Musically, it doesn’t stray too far from the
last album, with its blend of tech hop beats and assorted electronic
noises, but the production and mixing from Curver and Alap “Dälek”
Momin feels smoother and more refined this time round. Tracks like
“Trousers” and “Hovering Hoover Skates” pulse and gurgle with
industrial efficiency, as if Perc Trax decided to do ‘80s hip hop instead of
techno.
As with their earlier releases, ‘Division...’ is stuffed with collaborators
overflowing with cultural capital, that range from the barely there
(Damon Albarn, Dälek), to sublime and understated (Nick Zimmer,
Sensational, Alan Vega), to redoing the song altogether (local electronic
savants Stilluppsteypa remix “G-H-O-S-T-I-G-I-T-A-L”). The most
realised and fun collaboration is on “Dreamland,” where David Bryne’s
trans-fat basted Yankee teabagger duels with Einar Örn’s Prozac nation
space monkey. Yes it’s actually as good as it sounds.
The crucial factor on whether people will like ‘Division...’ depends
upon their opinion of frontman Einar Örn, the marmite of Icelandic
performers. There’s no middle ground with this man—you either think
he’s a demented genius or the biggest arsehole on the planet. But on
‘Division...’ he holds it together well. His vocals are twisted and mutated
by the producers to inhabit a multitude of voices. It brings to mind the
destroyed vocals on Death Grips’ ‘The Money Box.’ But whereas Death
Grips’ incendiary style and flow resembles crack-fuelled urban warfare,
Einar’s scattergun wordplay resembles that of childlike confusion over
cartoon absurdities from language problems (“Busting”), to sitting in
a dark room (“Dark In Here”). But he occasionally bares his teeth and
snarls his frustrations on tracks such as “Don’t Push Me.”
For an album containing so many sonic inputs, this could so easily
have been an over-bloated mess. It is thus impressive that Ghostigital
manage to make ‘Division...’ both so out there and yet be so listenable,
straddling the avant garde and the dancefloor with equal madness. It’s
definitely more killer and less filler. - BOB CLuNESS
www.listings.grapevine.is
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