Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.09.2012, Blaðsíða 31

Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.09.2012, Blaðsíða 31
31 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 15 — 2012MUSIC Album Reviews Cheek Mountain Thief Cheek Mountain Thief 2012 www.facebook.com/ cheekmountainthief Mountains, country-folk, hot springs, ghosts, and all things quaint and tinkly. Mike Lindsay—also the frontman of UK folktronica band Tunng—has built up a mythology for this album in which he falls in love with an Icelander, drawing him to Húsavík and Reykjavík, where he writes and records an album with a cast of small town characters and a who’s-who of Icelandic krútt. That's precisely how it sounds—it has elements of the "Icelandic sound," while retaining Lindsay's smooth British accent and the idiosyncrasies of style that made you love or hate Tunng. The album cover's depiction of a headdress-donned child painting a mountain gives a first impression that this album operates in a whimsical wonderland located somewhere between naiveté and insensitivity. That this image is then juxtaposed against the word "thief" I can only hope is purely incidental. Native American cultural appropriation and racial stereotyping has become a trend with "now-generation alternative music+fashion culture" (or what is popularly referred to as "hipsters"), and is as unfortunate as it is racist. At first I feared this would be totally toothless MOR indie-folk, but it has its interesting moments. Its whimsical, naive portrait of Iceland however gets a bit queasy and at times verges on disingenuous (though if he does spend the winter building a mountaintop house I'll swallow my words). Lindsay is still a tourist. I look forward to hearing how his impressions of Iceland mature on the next album. In the meantime, don't be surprised if one of these tracks turns up on the soundtrack to the next Inspired By Iceland promotional video. - ÞÓRIR BOGASON Beatmakin Troopa If You Fall You Fly 2012 facebook.com/beatmakintroopa Not really falling, yet flying chillfully I must admit my ineptitude: I didn't know until relatively recently that “chill” was an actual genre name. Seemingly it is, and it implies something that I would've termed downtempo or lounge before, or lumped somewhere close to trip-hop. Extreme Chill, an Icelandic collective of chill enthusiasts, have done a great job of promoting these relaxed, groovy sounds with regular nights and a successful summer festival. Beatmakin Troopa (the pseudonym of Pan Thorarensen) is a key member of the collective and his Beatmakin releases are revered within the group, as are the collaborations he's done with his father under the name Stereo Hypnosis. On the five-track EP ‘If You Fall You Fly,' he teams up with composer Þorkell Atlason. The result? Very chill. Electric and acoustic guitars are quite prominent on this release, giving it an organic feel that may or may not remind you of something like The Album Leaf. The guitars are usually pattern-based or provide the basic chord progression, thus interlocking with straightforward drum grooves and smooth bass licks. On top, Troopa has layered dreamy synths and more screechy guitars. Various “ethnic” elements pop up here and there, most notably in the title track, a suite of sorts that goes around the world and back in less than seven minutes. A surprise visit from the saxophone player makes for a beautiful and unexpected moment in “The First Touch,” as does an electric freak-out near the end of the recording. The whole EP is remarkably consistent, providing the listener with a nice and well-contained 25-minute journey through his own mind and the Troopa's. - ATLI BOLLASON tel. 578 8555www.gamlasmidjan.is Lækjargata 8 Opening hours: mon-thu 11:30-23 fri 11:30-06 sat 12-06 & sun 12-23 Heavenly pizzas! Home delivery See our menu at www.gamlasmidjan.is

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