Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.03.2013, Blaðsíða 17

17 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 3 — 2013
Album Reviews
Pascal Pinon
Paul Corley
Dream Central Station
Twosomeness
2012
www.pascalpinon.com
Something new for the kids.
Disquiet
2012
www.paulcorley.bandcamp.com
Mr Sandman, bring me a
dream...
S/T
2012
http://www.facebook.com/
dreamcentralstation
Gogoslingerína
Pascal Pinon is fairly well known on the
Reykjavík music scene for their quiet
ways and low-key performance style.
Following up their widely acclaimed first
album with ‘Twosomeness,’ the band
attempts to bridge the difficult gap be-
tween childhood and adulthood with
a more expansive and mature sound
aided by the expertise of producer Alex
Somers (of Jónsi and Alex fame).
‘Twosomeness’ is a step forward
from their earlier work, which was de-
cidedly simple and acoustic in style. This
time around, however, they combine
their sweet, breathy vocals with a big-
ger, more varied sound, for which they
utilise anything from a choral backdrop
to crunchy electronics.
On a track-by-track basis this change
to a more complex style works quite
well for the group and their determina-
tion to move forward in their sound is
admirable. On the down side, the album
feels like it might need a more decisive
track order as it tends to veer around, as
opposed to building up logically. Also,
although the group is decidedly ‘krútt’
in their ways, the new album and new
sound could have done with a bit more
lyrical backbone.
On the whole it is definitely worth
checking out, and hopefully these loose
ends do get tied up and lead to a stel-
lar third album. - BERGRÚN ANNA
HALLSTEINSDÓTTIR
Paul Corley is the latest addition to Bed-
room Community’s tightly knit roster.
If you are familiar with their output,
then you should have a ballpark idea of
where this release is coming from mu-
sically. More specifically, ‘Disquiet’ is a
soft, minimal mix of piano plinkery and
“found” sounds.
It occupies an odd sonic space. It
feels “low” in the speakers. This evokes
a sensation of being trapped under the
floorboards. It seems almost nightmar-
ish (much like its title might suggest), but
it fails to force a blood-curdling scream
from the listener. In a way it evokes the
sensation of being trapped in a dream,
with no control. However, like most
dreams, it therefore gives the sensation
of detachment also.
So, on one hand it satisfies the intel-
lect insofar that it is cleverly composed,
yet on the other it fails to sate the pas-
sions. It does not get me rigid. It is just
too calm and measured. It creates anxi-
ety, yes. But it is more akin to needing
a poo and not being urgently pressed
(with acceptable lavatory facilities near-
by) than being struck by a vicious bout
of diarrhoea whilst on a roller coaster.
And really, which incident is most likely
to stick with you? - CLYDE BRADFORD
First of all, hats off to Dream Central Sta-
tion for covering an obvious inspiration
(Brian Jonestown Massacre’s “Feel So
Good”) on their self-titled debut record.
This is an ingenious way to get lethargic
critics to find something slightly more
elaborate to write about than that par-
ticular influence. Thankfully this record
provides plenty more to talk about.
Here members Hallberg Hallbergs-
son (of Jakobínarína fame and a member
of Singapore Sling’s live outfit) and Elsa
María Blöndal (Go-Go Darkness) use sim-
ple chord sequences and simpler vocal
melodies—which are almost entirely de-
livered in unison by the duo—to explore
a variety of styles. These range from the
scuzzy to the intimate but all fit within the
realms of what could broadly, and lazily,
be defined as shoegaze.
The hypnotic and hazy “Feel” is
where DCS most resemble their breth-
ren from Singapore Sling. The song,
which features an unnerving semi-tonal
melody and a driving repetitive drum-
beat, is as experimental as this album
gets. At the other end of the spectrum
are the indie-folk inspired “There’s No
Place For You (In My Heart)” and “Now
Or Never” which both opt for acoustic
guitars to provide the vehicles for beau-
tifully understated vocal deliveries.
DCS are at their best when they man-
age to marry those two poles, such as in
opener “All On My Own.” The fact that
it feels valid despite it’s subject matter
being jeopardised by the unison vocal is
testament to the duo’s knack for writing
brilliant little melodies.
- ÁRNI ÁRNASON
MUSIC
Alísa Kalyanova
It doesn’t get much more romantic
than in the world of folk, where mu-
sic is looked upon as a phenomenon
of shared experience.
To the extent that folk empha-
sises storytelling and the storyteller,
and to the extent that folk is a miracle
of community, most of the popular
music coming out of Iceland today
should be considered, whether the
musicians like it or not, pretty ‘folky.’
“For a long time I didn’t want to
admit that I was under any influ-
ence from my dad,” says folk singer-
songwriter Snorri Helgason, who
this year is co-directing the Reykjavík
Folk Festival alongside his father,
Helgi Pétursson of Ríó Tríó fame.
“I started out making music that
was very different from him,” Snorri
says. “I’m not sure how it happened
exactly, but somehow I ended up
a folk musician, just like my dad.
When I was growing up there were
Ríó Tríó rehearsals going on in my
living room, so I guess it was bound
to happen—it was bound to seep in
eventually.”
The fourth annual Reykjavík
Folk Festival doesn’t offer much in
the way of traditional Icelandic folk
music—something Snorri says is
“surprisingly dark, heavy stuff.” The
traditional ‘rímur,’ for one, are the
feature of a very different, more his-
torically focused Folk Music Festival
held in Siglufjörður in the north of
Iceland in the summertime.
The Reykjavík festival is true, rather,
to a more modern folk tradition,
showcasing the folk-rock and folk-
pop elements emerging in the local
music scene.
“There is such an unbelievable
amount of stuff happening locally
that is, at its base, built on folk mu-
sic,” Snorri says. “Everything from
Ásgeir Trausti and Of Monsters and
Men to Ólöf Arnalds and sóley and
Seabear. To my ears, it all stems,
somehow, from folk elements.”
PET PROJECT NO MORE
After three years at Rósenberg, this
year the festival will be held for the
first time at the Gym & Tonic hall
at Kex Hostel. The change in venue
along with the induction of Snorri as
co-director, represents a ubiquitous
shift in focus for the festival, which is
being rebuilt, Snorri says, “from the
ground up.”
The new venue is ideal for the
festival’s small acoustic sets, Snorri
says, and will hopefully attract a
more diverse crowd than the one the
festival saw at Rósenberg.
“In past years, the average age of
attendees at the festival was forty,”
Snorri says. “Not that there’s any-
thing wrong with that, but I think
appealing to different age groups
is the only way that this festival can
grow, and evolve into something
bigger. Once the festival is more es-
tablished, we hope to be able to in-
clude more international artists. The
dream would be to get people like
Bonnie Prince Billy, Sam Amidon,
Bon Iver or Sufjan Stevens.”
In order to appeal to a younger
generation of concertgoers, Snorri
says, it was not only important to get
the younger generation in front of
the stage, but also onto it.
Young, local musicians of the
likes of Ólöf Arnalds, Pétur Ben, Elín
Ey as well as Snorri himself are all
playing the festival for the first time.
“It’s quality over quantity,” says
Snorri of the 12 musicians playing
this year, adding that keeping the
concerts small and seated, and end-
ing things early, is crucial to the spirit
of the festival. “The idea is just that
these be really good concerts. I don’t
have a very high festival tolerance.”
In the long run, the aim of the
festival extends beyond just the
festival weekend: the idea is to raise
awareness of the burgeoning, local
folk scene.
“It’s about more than just this fes-
tival,” Snorri says. “I want to point
out all of the things going on, that
there is actually a very strong, co-
hesive scene in Reykjavík. The idea
is to continue throughout the whole
year, working to increase awareness
of folk music. There is so much going
on. People just need to know about
it.”
- VALGERÐUR ÞÓRODDSDÓTTIR
All In the Family
The Reykjavík Folk Festival redux
7
MARCH
Kex Hostel
Skúlagata 28– 9MARCH 7.999.-www.midi.is www.folkfestival.isISK