Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.04.2012, Blaðsíða 22

22
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 4 — 2012
Music | The future
Since 1982, The ÍTR, Reykjavík's
sports and youth council, has put
on The Battle of the Bands (Músik-
tilraunir) as a massive search for
the best new acts the nation has
to offer. It’s a hugely popular event
and many of its winners have gone
onto have great careers, like Mí-
nus, XXX Rottweiler, Mammút and
Agent Fresco. Most recently, 2010
winners Of Monsters And Men
were signed to Universal Records.
We checked it out this year to see
what’s on the horizon, and gave
them each an “award” of our own
while we were at it.
WHITE SIGNAL
The cutest band of the night
This bunch of peppy teenagers bound-
ed with energy playing sweet, dance-
pop tunes. We expected a Disney Chan-
nel band, but we actually loved their
synchronised dance moves that got the
crowd going. It even made cynical bas-
tards like us go “aww!” They seemed
very assured in what they were doing
and displayed an impressive amount
of musical skill, especially considering
they were all fourteen to seventeen.
They make Retro Stefson look old!
ICARUS
The band that needs to come out of its shell
These three young dudes playing some
heavy, ‘90s style garage rock brought
us back to the age where alternative
met nu-metal, but sans vocal. The bass-
ist lacked any sort of stage presence,
but time and stress control will fix that.
The guitarist put in the most physical
performance, but overall they kind of
sulked away at the back of the stage.
Not bad at all, but a long way to go yet.
THE LOVELY LION
The Oprah Winfrey follow-your-bliss band
They sort of filled the Of Monsters And
Men follow-up-act quotient. They were
also the first of many bands of the night
to have a costume gimmick (head and
leg-bands!). Both the tunes and lyrics
were overly positive and motivational
to a mawkish degree, which reminded
us of Dawson’s Creek era alt-folk-pop.
They were good performers, but they
can probably make better music.
THE YOUNG AND CAREFREE
The band made for a John Hughes movie
When they started we turned to each
other and said “ONE REPUBLIC!” but
by the time they hit the first chorus of
their dreamy '80s synth-emo with the
hook-line “nothing is beautiful...” we
found them more akin to Echo & the
Bunnymen or M83. The electronics and
synth guys gave super cool and col-
lected performances in the back while
their Kelly-from-Stereophonics-look-
alike singer delivered intense, brooding
vocals. The beats could have been a bit
crisper, but we fucking loved it.
FUNK THAT SHIT!
The magician-at-the-birthday-party act
We take it these guys are studying jazz
composition because their technical
level was way above everyone else in
the showcase. We know who’s winning
the instrument awards tonight! But it
was a lot of empty calories—lots of so-
los and displays of skill, but the songs
were not much fun, and you can’t spell
‘funk’ without F-U-N. (Little secret:
we’d like to see them team up with the
sax player from White Signal to play the
soundtrack of Lethal Weapon.)
RETROBOT
The big hot mess of a band
During the break that preceded this
band, we had noted that none of the
acts were sloppy. We spoke too soon.
From their awkward stage placement
to their disjointed compositions to a
seemingly unnecessary second guitar-
ist, this group was kind of confusing.
They crammed in so many different
electronic styles that it was the sonic
equivalent of an overpacked suitcase
and their half-cocked lyrics didn’t con-
vince. Luckily it was pretty entertaining
to watch the two main singers did flail
around not giving a fuck.
AETERNA
The best song title for “Signal from a Demon Star”
These guys were the only metal band
in the show, and also the only band to
attempt a real joke! Their singer kicked
off the set by throwing out a light dig at
Bubbi Morthens before launching into
their set of mixed metal styles. They
are very good technically, but not much
originality to the songs or awesome vo-
cals—the voice could use more whisky.
They just need to find their niche.
GLUNDROÐI
The band that made us want a beer
The second folk-rock act of the night
had a distinctly stronger belligerent
pub-vibe. We disagreed on the source
of their sound, one of us hearing more
Americana, the other more Ireland.
Either way it was solid, rough-edged
booze-music. Their fiddle player’s over-
enthusiasm and posturing was a bit too
much for us to take, but the guitarist/
shirtless accordion player redeemed
the set with a big booming sing-along
that carried on until they were off the
stage.
ÞOKA
The kind of band you want at Café Rósenberg
The pace slowed way, way down for
this three-piece, vocal-blues band that
didn’t even sport a rhythm section. This
act paired up a guitar and an electric
piano to highlight their singer’s rich,
husky voice. A bit muted and flat, but
not a trace of pretention in it, with the
vocalist delivering a really sincere and
emotive performance, making her the
obvious front-runner for best voice.
They get a honourable mention for best
James Taylor look-alike.
HINDURVÆTTIR
The bless-their-hearts-they-tried band
Oh dear. This band’s closing perfor-
mance of one very (veeeerrrryyyy)
long song rather than three songs over
about fifteen minutes did not go well.
At all. And when we saw the members
walking around after, it looked like they
knew it. Thus, the less said about it the
better. It happens, guys!
Prior to the prize announcement, we
both agreed that The Young and Care-
free were our definite favourite to win,
with our picks for second and third go-
ing to White Signal (for the cuteness!)
and RetRoBot (for the lulz!). Turns out
the judges felt differently.
AND THE WINNERS ARE…
3. Funk That Shit!
2. Þoka
1. RetRoBot (pictured)
Music Battle Royale 2012!
Iceland’s newest crop of bands duke it out for cash and glory
Words
Rebecca Louder and Bob Cluness
photography
Brynjar Gunnarsson
Music | Reviews
I've made up my mind. ADHD's latest
album rules. This being my virgin
foray into their world of sound, I was
initially worried when I saw the line-up
of musicians. They are all fantastic
players, but I figured these skilled cats
would play all over each other and
forget about proper song-writing and
memorable songs. I was skeptical to
say the least. However, I'm happy to re-
port that my worries were unwarranted
and I'm chewing on my hat with a big
frown across my face.
This album is cool. I mean, it makes
you feel like you are fucking cool just
listening to it. It is cool like cool jazz
is cool, but it's not really ‘cool jazz’.
Rather, it's a potent mix of modern and
standard jazz (there's no such thing!),
with hints of blues here and there and
something up-beat, warm and ener-
getic. Opener “IFE” will have you run
and hug the nearest person and start
to dance. And just when you think
you have them pegged down, they
switch gears and the affair gets a tad
more triply and calm with “Merkilegt.”
Two songs deep, you know this is no
one-trick pony. The mournful, lonely
mood of “Örtré” is a true delight. The
production values must be applauded.
The earthy and live-like tone lifts this
one up to higher grounds.
This album is as dynamic as they
come but it never falls apart into frag-
ments or sections. There's soul, fusion,
a hint of funk and deceiving moments
of floating ambience. Herein lies its
strength: you can't point a finger and
slap ADHD2 with a specific genre
moniker. Instead it breezes by with a
surprising range of emotions, leaving
the listener stimulated and inspired.
Recommended.
- BIRKIR FJALAR VIÐARSSON
ADHD
ADHD 2
ADHD is the coolest un-cool band
going and you'd be a damned fool
to miss them.
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