Reykjavík Grapevine - 28.09.2013, Blaðsíða 29

Album
Reviews
Nolo
Human
2013
http://itsnolo.bandcamp.com
A short but sweet LP of
lo-fi earworms
Prolific synth-pop duo Nolo
have been quietly amassing
a catalogue of self-recorded
singles, EPs and albums since their
formation in 2009. Their artist page
on Gogoyoko shows no less than 21
releases, many of which are demos.
Confronted with such a variety of stuff,
it's hard to know where to start; but you
could do worse than to choose ‘Human,’
their third LP. Released quietly on the
band's Bandcamp earlier this year,
these eight tracks clock in at a lean 25
minutes, including a remixed version of
"Passion."
For anyone who's seen Nolo's
current excellent live show, many of the
songs will be familiar—the track list is
something of a 'greatest hits,' packed
with memorable tunes and no filler
whatsoever. Opening with the Gary
Numan-reminiscent "Burning Sand,"
‘Human’ marks an ‘80s-inflected but
decidedly contemporary alt-pop sound,
the soft keyboard washes propelled by
unhurried drum-machine rhythms and
topped with skittering lead guitar. They
inhabit an interesting space somewhere
between the pure ‘80s vocoder-and-
effects schtick of retro bands like
Chromeo, and the hazy, reverb-heavy
acid-pop of Ariel Pink collaborator John
Maus. But Nolo's songs have a mellow,
languid, hook-laden quality all of its own.
There's no shortage of singles
here: "Romeo" is an earworm that'll
have you whistling along by the end of
the first chorus. "Stuck On a Mind" is
an effervescent standout, and "Steel" is
an arch, atmospheric ballad. "Delicious"
comes across like a forgotten lo-fi
gem from a lost John Hughes movie
soundtrack.
There's little doubt that Nolo will
continue to pump out new material, and
with songs as catchy as these, there'll be
few complaints.
29
Sin Fang’s ‘Flowers’ is one of our favourite
albums of the year and now one of its stand-
out tracks, “Young Boys,” has been remixed
by none other than Jónsi from Sigur Rós.
Of course Jónsi is quite familiar with the
material since 'Flowers' was recorded at
his own house and produced by his part-
ner Alex Somers. He slows the song down
and skips the chorus, piles on loads of echo
on the tambourines and adds a hazy synth
arpeggio that builds slowly throughout the
song. It’s a wonderful treatment, full of sonic
details that tickle your eardrums.
Speaking of young boys, you should
keep your ear open for underground beat-
making from Tómas Daví!, a 19-year-old
from Reykjavík who just released his first
EP called ‘1,’ under the name of Tonmo. The
album consists of eight songs of fantastic
chillwave-influenced hip-hop that Tonmo
wrote and produced while living in Hun-
tington Beach, California earlier this year.
You can buy the album on Bandcamp for 4
USD and you can see him live on the decks
with Lord Pu$$whip at Iceland Airwaves in
November.
Before that though, you should catch
the band Bleached from Los Angeles, who
are touring Europe and will stop in Iceland,
performing at Harlem on Thursday, Octo-
ber 17. Sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin
blend vintage punk with sunny and melodic
Southern Californian rock on their enjoyable
debut album, ‘Ride Your Heart,’ which came
out earlier this year. Bleached will be sup-
ported by Icelandic hardcore outfit Muck
and tickets are available at www.midi.is and
in Brim clothing stores.
Now, although we mainly think and
write about music, we also like to go to the
movies. Last week we attended a screen-
ing in Bíó Paradís of ‘Shut Up And Play The
Hits,’ a documentary about LCD Sound-
system’s infamous last show in Madison
Square Garden. The concert footage alone
was worth the entry, and although there
won’t be another screening we strongly
recommend people get a hold of it, by any
means necessary.
There are also some interesting music
documentaries showing at the Reykjavík
International Film Festival, which opened on
September 26. We’re excited to see ‘Mis-
taken For Strangers’ about indie band The
National’s world tour. It was made by the
lead singer’s brother who went with them
as a roadie but instead spent most of his
time filming his and the band’s escapades.
Reviews say that it’s really funny and highly
personal.
By Óli Dóri and Daví! Roach
Young Boys And The Movies
Straum.is has been active since last
summer, with writers Óli Dóri and
Daví! Roach documenting the local
music scene and helping people dis-
cover the best new music. It is asso-
ciated with the radio show Straumur
on X977, which airs every Monday
evening at 23:00.
MADE IN ICELAND www.jswatch.com
With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
Watchmaker ensures that we take our waterproofing rather seriously.
Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
inspects every single timepiece before it leaves our workshop.
THE FRESHEST FISH ....AND IDEAS!
SKÓLAVÖR!USTÍGUR 14 - 101 REYKJAVÍK - 571 1100
A"er years of study,
strings of awards and
having led kitchens of
some of Reykjavík’s most
esteemed restaurants,
Gústav still sees him
self as just a kid from
up north, with a life-
time passion for fish.
B O R G R E S TA U R A N T  P Ó S H Ú S S T R Æ T I 9  1 1  1 0 1 R E Y K J AV Í K
T E L : + 3 5 4  5 7 8  2 0 2 0  I N F O  B O R GRESTAURANT . I S  W W W. B O R GRESTAURANT . I S
“Out of this world!!!”
“It certainly was the best of the many places we dined in Reykjavik!”
FrequentFlyer513 - New York City, New York - Trip Advisor
CBondGirl - Calgary, Canada. Trip Advisor
Words
John Rogers
Music