Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.04.2013, Qupperneq 25

25
Futuregrapher
Retro Stefson
Ophidian I
LP
2012
www.facebook.com/Futuregrapher
Jungle is aliiiive!
Retro Stefson
2012
www.retrostefson.com
Retro Stefson move on up to the
next generation.
SOLVET SAECLUM
2012
www.facebook.com/OphidianI
‘Solvet Saeclum’ hints at greatness,
but the band has yet to control their
overzealous enthusiasm.
Futuregrapher makes jungle. Rapid-fire
beats composed from familiar breaks,
dreamy pads with major sevenths, vocal
samples and the occasional jazzy riffs: It's
all in here. Of course, this is somewhat
unusual since the genre has pretty much
been dormant since the mid-nineties, in
the sense that there's hardly been any
development although new tracks have
continued to surface. Or maybe I just
stopped paying attention. Either way, in
Futuregrapher's case it hardly matters.
This is an excellent LP that would sit nicely
next to titles by Boymerang, Jonny L or
something off of Good Looking Records.
If there’s a band that best embodies the
“party” spirit of Iceland’s music scene over
the last several years, then Retro Stefson
must surely be close contenders. This
interest has seen the band being tipped by
many to achieve big things beyond these
shores. With m-indie backing from Berlin’s
Vertigo Records, their third self-titled
album now sees them make that first big
push into international crossover territory.
The first thing you notice when you
play ‘Retro Stefson’ is that a lot of time and
effort has gone into the production. Many
people won't care to admit it, but Retro
‘Solvet Saeclum’ is crisp and cutting like
latter day Death but without the choruses
and anthemic attributes. Its virtuosos
are exhausting like Obscura, but without
the crunch. Ophidian I follow what has
"Elísa" might be the highlight. A jazzy
track with layered old-skool breaks, thick
and warm bass-tones, spacy sax riffs,
and a bunch of twitching acid on top. It is
perhaps only matched by "Kjarninn" with
its unforgiving groove, smooth wurly chords
and growling bass synths. "Think" is a busy
cut featuring local activist/conspiracy-
theorist Guðjón Heiðar Valgarðsson
half-speaking, half-rapping a call to arms
against capitalist and martial powers to acid
bass lines and machine gun snare-rolls.
This works surprisingly well—Guðjón is calm
and sensible, yet pointed in his lyrics, and
his unusual delivery and vocal pitch prop
one's ears open. Closer "Bons" is based on
ear-splitting beats reminiscent of Aphex
Twin over sub-bass and pads.
As is compulsory on any drum ’n’
bass or jungle record, there are some
cuts here in different, slower grooves.
"James Acid" is a decent acid track with
ambient undertones (Think Carl Craig or
the bleep and bass of early Warp), and
"Engihjalli Ambient" is a brief pad-driven
opener that sets a warm and comfortable
mood. More forgettable is "Stapi,"
with its attempts at melody coming off
improvisational and naïve.
But hats off to Futuregrapher for
sticking to a style and coming up with
something tasty fifteen years after the raw
materials' expiry date. - Atli Bollason
Stefson’s first two albums just didn’t sound
that good, coming across as dry and flat
and failing to capture the band’s vaunted
live energy. But now the music feels
brighter and tighter, and everything rushes
along with a busy energy.
This leads to the second thing you
notice about ‘Retro Stefson.’ That is, the
band has traded in their old loose-limbed
groove for an electronic sound more
aligned with disco and house music, due
in no small part, to the influence of album
co-producer Hermigervill. While some of
the old Retro Stefson is still there in tracks
like “Miss Nobody,” which rails with some
heavy rock riffing, and “(O) Kami” (the
best song in the album), which combines
smooth melodies with reggae-infused rock
rhythms, there are now tracks like “Julia,”
which comes complete with choppy
house-y synth lines and “Time,” which
goes for a plastick ‘80s nu-pop style.
This isn’t an album that boasts
grinding grooves for getting down and
dirty. The rough edges have been sanded
off, leaving a smooth, shiny album that
contains barely an inch of attitude or
frisson. But this is an album of pure
unabashed groove pop that finally realises
the energy and potential that they’ve been
promising for a long while now.
- Bob Cluness
become somewhat conventional technical
modern death metal. The busyness and
frequent change-ups are now a staple in
an over-populated genre. Quite frankly, it’s
becoming too much, and our local boys
don't add much to the flora.
But these guys have it all. They’re
talented as fuck and their performances
are stellar. Their guitar solos are probably
the tastiest in Icelandic metal right now.
They’ve penned awesome riffs and execute
them with force and command, but the
songs cannot breathe. There are too many
licks and transitions flying around. The
parts that want to connect with you don't
stand a chance. As soon as you think
something is going to be built upon, there's
a shift robbing the song of its momentum,
which happens too often to mention.
It's far more challenging to kill your
own darlings (in this case, simplify the
structure and lose some riffs) than string
together everything you come up with.
Had Ophidian I done that, the album would
be more memorable.
- Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson
A
lb
um
Review
s
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