Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.01.2013, Qupperneq 17

17 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 1 — 2013
There are tons of consistently great live
bands to contend with in Iceland. Retro
Stefson. Muck. Skálmöld. Mugison.
All total pros, each in their own genre,
who put on an outstanding show every
single time and leave you f lustered and
thankful to be alive. There is a pres-
ence towering over all of these, howev-
er, one that simply cannot be ignored,
as it can be reasonably argued that they
have played a crucial role in pushing
forward the quality and idea of Icelan-
dic live shows since before any of Retro
Stefson were even born.
And they are still doing it.
That band is GusGus.
This was the conclusion we finally
reached. After debating the merits of
Muck’s raw hardcore assault versus
Retro Stefson’s crafted showmanship
versus Skálmöld’s powerful delivery
versus Mugison’s absolute control of
the crowd, and then thinking whether
any working band combined these
qualities, the committee slapped its
collective forehead and proclaimed:
“HOW COULD WE FORGET GUS-
GUS?”
Perhaps it’s easy to take things for
granted when they are constantly pres-
ent? Or perhaps it is because they set
the standard we have come to judge
other live shows by? Whatever the rea-
son, we remembered, and they are get-
ting this prize.
Noted a panellist: “Anyone that’s
taken a peek behind the scenes of a few
GusGus show productions can attest
that they can be hard to deal with, but
this is merely because of their uncom-
promising attitude and high level of
ambition. GusGus absolutely refuse to
put on a show that’s anything short of
awe-inspiring, making high demands
on the audience, the sound system, the
venue and on themselves. This is part
of what makes them so great, and why
everyone should aspire to see at least
one GusGus show during their life-
time.”
To which another added: “And they
make it work in every situation, every
setting. Even opening up the stage at
KEX during lunchtime on Airwaves
Wednesday, they enthralled the crowd
and blew everyone away.”
The panel deems GusGus Iceland’s
best live band. They captivate, tantalise
and give their 100% in any situation,
truly an experience to be experienced.
It is true that a lot of bands played more
shows in Iceland in 2012 than GusGus.
However, if we are going to give anyone
a ‘BEST LIVE ACT’, it has to start with
GusGus.
When we say band to watch, we don’t
just mean a band that’s physically at-
tractive and puts on an enjoyable stage
show (although both apply to our win-
ners this year). We also mean a band
that has been gaining momentum for a
long while, a band that has been steadi-
ly working on their sound, songwriting
and attitude, a band that feels like it’s
gaining velocity at an alarming rate,
destined to arrive at a critical bursting
point where they will transition from
being promising to dominating sooner
than later.
And brutal thrashcore savants
Muck proved in 2012 that they were
this band without a doubt.
“We have countless examples of
extreme bands who make a really ex-
treme debut album and get the young
kids wild for their aggressive sound,
where the second album is a fucking
masterpiece that has a universal appeal
beyond the extreme music circuit,” a
panellist noted. “We’ve heard this story
so many times, and it’ll come true: this
is what Iceland needs at the moment
and this is what Muck will do. They
will transition and maybe smooth their
sound a little, and they will hit big. I
have no doubt of this.”
Continued another: “There seems
to be a relative dearth of inspiring rock
music in Iceland at the moment, dan-
gerous stuff that kids can get behind.
Muck, with their proper attitude to-
wards music, touring, hard work and
absolutely no compromise seem to be
just what everyone is waiting for. They
seem destined to cross over.”
The panel deems Muck BAND TO
WATCH! for 2013. Through their stun-
ning 2012 LP ‘Slaves’, countless live
shows in and around Reykjavík, tours
of the US (where they are for some
reason currently artists in residence
at some fancy artist residency in New
York) they have convinced us that we
have to keep a close eye on them. And
we will.
It took forever to reach a conclusion on song of the year
and that’s only to be expected, since a year that yields
such a number of great albums is pretty likely to yield a
bunch of great songs, too.
Retro Stefson’s “Qween” and “Glow” were both
highly favoured among the panel, as well as Ojba
Rasta’s “Jolly Good” and “Baldursbrá.” Those are all
great songs. Others were discussed too. However, we
all kept coming back to Moses Hightower and their
stunning-in-its-simplicity track “Háa C,” off their 2012
sophomore record ‘Önnur Mósebók.’ This was doubly
reinforced during our second meeting—it seemed the
assorted panel members had spent most of the days be-
tween our meetings listening to it on repeat.
“I’ve been listening to all the songs we talked about,
and in the end I have to go with “Háa C,” one panellist
proclaimed at the start of our second meeting. “The way
it builds its groove and keeps going is infectious, and
the way you seem absolutely unable to grow tired of it is
remarkable. It’s just so good!”
Although the lovely Icelandic lyrics to “Háa C” (in-
sightful, witty, with a dash of puns thrown in for good
measure) are unfortunately beyond our non-Icelandic
speaking readers, the rest of the track makes up for it
in volumes. It is a track where everything comes to-
gether in a delightful explosion of calculated restraint;
the infectious melody, the warm ‘70s soul groove (em-
phasised by an excellent sounding drum track) and the
bouncy vocal track. It’s fucking good, is what it is.
The panel deems Moses Hightower’s “Háa C” to be
absolutely the best Icelandic song of the year, in every
possible respect. Thank you, Moses Hightower!
Song of the year
Moses Hightower – Háa C
Go see them play live as
soon as you can award
GusGus
Band to watch
Muck

Th
e
Re
yk
jav
ík G
rapevine Music Aw
ards

BEST SONG
2012

Th
e
Re
yk
jav
ík G
rapevine Music Aw
ards

BAND TO WATCH
2013

Th
e
Re
yk
jav
ík G
rapevine Music Aw
ards

BEST LIVE BAND
2012
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