Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Blaðsíða 40

Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Blaðsíða 40
40 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2014MUSIC Following a tremendously successful All Tomorrow’s Parties festival (ATP), the or- ganisers have announced the headliner for next year’s fest, indie stalwarts Belle and Sebastian. We were lucky enough to see them the last time they visited Iceland, when they rocked the packed NASA venue in 2006, and can’t wait to see them again in the unique setting at Ásbrú. ATP is one of the best new phenomena to grace our musical horizon in quite some time. The abandoned military base is a perfectly outlandish set- ting for a festival that focuses on diverse alternative music. The execution of the festival was also outstanding, with every act starting on time with exceptional sound quality and lighting. Portishead, Interpol, Fuck Buttons, Sin Fang and Singapore Sling blew hearts and minds and the overall atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. Early bird tickets for next year’s festival are already on sale and we’re looking forward to it. Photo Still from "Þau Svæfa" by Mammút Words Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach Kaldi, Icelandic microbrewery Stella Artois White- and red wine Sparkling wine Cocktail of the day NEW BAR MENU Bergstaðastræti 37 Tel: 552 5700 www.galleryrestaurant.is gallery@holt.is Selected drinks at half price Hörður Már Bjarnason’s solo album ‘Haust’ (or “Autumn”), under his band name M-Band, at times seems to emulate the styles of more seasoned electronic musicians a little too closely, but ends up offering plenty of fresh sounds as well. GusGus is an obvious similarity here, along with some of Björk’s more house-inspired tracks of the 1990’s and also the dreamy vocals of Antony. (Side note: a 23-year-old Hörður stated in an interview that he would love to meet Antony one day, and knowing the networks that Icelandic musicians work in, you might as well expect an upcoming collaboration.) There is still a helping of dance music tricks of the trade on this album, for those who like the standard fare of long filter sweeps, nearly wordless singing, and vocoded lyrics. Countless musicians have done better the digitized voices like those that open the epic ten- minute jam “Psalms of the Mushroom War.” The tracks without as much vocal processing really show off M-Band’s use of complex vocal lines and abstract melodies. Surprisingly, “Psalms” saves itself from cliché by completely shifting its tone to a thrilling, uneven bass/drums pulse, and even electric guitar jamming. M-Band succeeds in breaking out of the shadows of his role models and into newer territory. Many of Hörður’s chord progressions move with a composer’s touch, following pleasantly unusual patterns. The opening and closing of the album, along with “When the Night Falls,” are beautiful collages, seemingly drawn from bird sounds, piano tones, fragmented voices and scraping sheets of metal. I am most drawn to the titular song ‘Haust,’ which begins with quirky uneven handclaps and acoustic guitar, and then explodes into a swirl of electronics, synths and the strangest, most alluring dub improv. The piece ends as if a pipe organ is merging with some Skrillex songs and it, like the album as a whole, is really captivating. - NATHAN HALL Hot on the heels of his latest album, the great Prins Póló released a brand new song last Friday called “Paris Of The North.” The song is a stand-alone single and is featured in a film of the same name that will premiere in September. “Paris Of The North” is a bass driven, catchy as hell, in your face pop song. With a simple, steady electronic beat, it’s decorated with distorted guitars and a hilarious first person narrative about a boozy fisherman coming home to his messed up life and family. It’s a strong contender for our best song of the year. Stefnir Gunnarsson from the noughties slacker-rocker band Lada Sport just put out his second solo album under the name Japanese Super Shift (the third if you include the album he made with the Future Band back in 2012). The album title is ‘47’ and it contains 11 introspective songs that are greatly influenced by ‘90s era American indie rock mixed with modern synth pop. The highlights are the opening song “Just As Lost” and “Son Of Younger Than Minus R.” The album is presently streaming on Japanese Super Shift’s Bandcamp page and can be yours for about 4 USD. Last, but not least, we recommend two very good, but different, music videos released in the last week. Mammút made their music video debut with the dark, unnerving and extremely physical interpretation of “Þau Svæfa,” (“They Put to Sleep”) taken from their award winning album ‘Komdu Til Mín Svarta Systir,’ released last year. The video was directed by Sunneva Ása Weisshappel and Katrína Mogensen, the group’s singer. The other video is for the song “Hrísgrjón,” (“Rice”) from newcomer rapper MC Bjór. It’s a delicately lo-fi affair that includes a car ride in space, a rice-eating monk, basketball and skateboarding, all saturated in goofball humour and unrestrained joy. Straumur has been active since last summer, with writers Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach documenting the local music scene and helping people discover new music at straum.is. It is associated with the radio show Straumur on X977, which airs every Monday evening at 23:00. Album Reviews M-Band Haust 2014 m-bandmusic.com ‘Haust’ gives GusGus a run for their krónur www.straum.isThe Straumur radio show airs on X977 Monday evenings at 23:00Straumur Parties Of The North
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