Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Blaðsíða 34

Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Blaðsíða 34
Grapevin e Singles Reviews Helvítis Útlending ur NILFISK Sometimes (In The Summer) Equal to: Chocolate-Covered Raisins Although the album that contains it is disap- pointing and lacklustre, Sometimes neatly sums up Nilfisk’s qualities with its tight, racing drums and straightforward, yet intricate, inter- twining guitars soaring into a lengthy instru- mental section, and the quirky, off-kilter, not- quite-grammatically-correct lyrics are nothing short of beautiful in their simple, heartfelt and delicate clichés. Ceterum censeo, Sometimes is like a chocolate-covered raisin: A sweet, amiable and kind of sappy mixture of flavours that in spite of its obvious faults, is almost impossible to hate, especially when accompanied by a totally pointless movie about teenagers going to school, being lonely and watching other teenagers from the backs of a classrooms with awestruck expressions on their faces. SE MINUSBARÐI Don’t Hold Back Equal to: Nizza Minusbarði was, to many people, the worst idea ever: Barði Jóhannsson of neo-romantic club composer Bang Gang playing with metal punk rockers Mínus. But as it turned out, they made a decent album, with a standout single, Don’t Hold Back. An homage to Kiss, this track outshone its influences. The candy equivalent would be Nizza, an outstanding local candy that combines good chocolate and liquorice into a divine treat. BC AMPOP My Delusions Equal to: Hrísur Ampop’s third album was not appreciated by the Grapevine’s reviewer, but the single, the most downloaded song of 2005 from tonlist.is, has to be acknowledged. Light and airy, with keyboards coming in to save a thin melody line, the sweet but almost substantive lyrics made this a solid single. Candy equivalent would be Hrísur, the light but substantive candy bar that almost feels like a meal. BC Daniel Ágúst If You Leave Me Now Equal to: Tromp The front man from Gus Gus has an out- sized personality that, when combined with a somewhat empty album, overshadowed this delicate single. But if you can get hold of If You Leave Me Now, and you listen to it, you’ll find something unique, addictive and satisfy- ing. Equivalent: Tromp, a colourful and tasty Icelandic candy, often sold in very short mini candy bars. BC SINGAPORE SLING Song for the Dead Equal to: Hockey Pölver An interesting but perhaps badly timed change of approach for Singapore Sling is announced in Song for the Dead’s opening moments when the beat is set by a distinctly synthetic-sound- ing drum machine. And just when the buzzing, off-key guitars have you fooled into thinking they’re only using a drum machine because they couldn’t find a drummer, the melodic la- la-las of the chorus show off the Sling’s most ambitious attempt at traditional musicianship yet. The entire song is brisk, uncomplicated and potent, while still not losing any of the drug-fuelled vacancy of Singapore Sling’s earlier successes. Its off-putting and vaguely disturbing flavour grows on you in an addictive manner not dissimilar to Hockey Pölver, a vulgarly un- wholesome flavoured sugar sold in plastic tins. The blatant irresponsibility of its makers recalls a bygone era, and while it has no substance whatsoever, it somehow satisfies like nothing else. Whatever you do, though, never have too much of it. SE Guide to the ratings system The Reykjavík Grapevine has dedicated a section in every paper since March 2005 to album reviews, ignoring a key aspect of the Icelandic music scene, and of music in the age of iTunes: singles. We typically review albums according to what they’d be worth in beer; for singles, we have decided to equate them more with candy, another local indulgence. By Bart Cameron and Sindri Eldon ARCTIC MONKEYS I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Equal to: Gum on a Log If you thought Franz Ferdinand was too smart and not derivative enough, check out pop’s new low, Arctic Monkeys, celebrated by the Icelandic and British media, and some of America’s mainstream. The best song off an album of neutered riffs and retarded sound bite quips is the first single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (one word, get it, it’s poetic.) Apparently, playing straight from your beginner guitar book with enthusiastic utterances of “I want to see the things I’ve seen before” is the new Shakespeare. After reading a third four-star review in a local publication, the Grapevine did a scientific study: we played Arctic Monkeys for ten music fans with no introduction at all—in all ten cases, we were told to push stop less than one minute into the first track. (In an 11th case, with a man who claimed he met the Arctic Monkeys at a club in Glasgow and loved them, the CD played for 30 seconds before this Arctic Monkey buddy begged for it to be stopped.) The candy comparison: take a stick of gum, chew it, swal- low it, wait a day, and there you have Arctic Monkeys. BC These singles can be found on www.itunes.com, www.napster.com, www.smekkleysa.is, www.tonlist.is or www.icelandairwaves.com. 34 Að minnsta 500 milljón og 300 þúsund manns skilja þína auglýsingu ef hún væri hér. – Reykjavík’s Only English Language NewspaperThe Reykjavík Grapevine Auglýsingadeild The Reykjavík Grapevine | 540 3600 | ads@grapevine.is 6.490.065.483 EINSTAKLINGAR Í HEIMINUM GETA EKKI LESIÐ ÞESSA SETNINGU At least 500 million can read this one!

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