Reykjavík Grapevine - 28.08.2015, Blaðsíða 26

26 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2015DESIGNMU IC
Open 11:30-22:00
saegreif inn. is
101 Reykjavík Tel. 553 1500 seabaron8@gmail.com
An absolute
must-try!
Saegreifinn restaurant (Sea Baron) is like none other
in Iceland; a world famous lobster soup and a diverse
fish selection.
On Grísalappalísa’s debut al-
bum ‘Ali’, there’s a line in “Lóan
er komin” where singer Baldur
Baldursson growls, “Thorough-
ly thought out/Much practiced/Stolen
from here or there/Don’t expect that I take
responsibility or remember where it came
from” (translation mine). As a lyric-as-
M.O., it pretty much declares the band’s
ethos as pop-art postmodern rockers.
While many local acts try to retain a pas-
tiche of purity in intent and form, Grísalap-
palísa pick and choose musical styles and
clichés as they please, retaining a high
level of camp and piss-taking that hides
an acerbic centre.
Grísalappalísa, like many Icelandic
acts, hold a dear love for the music of the
past, a love evident in their 7” series of
covers of Icelandic musical totems such
as Megas and Stuðmenn. But while ‘Ali’
had a distinctly post-punk framework,
‘Rökrétt framhald’ sees Grísalappalísa
travelling further back into the past of
rock’s back pages. The opening salvo of
“Sambýlismannablús” and “Allt má (má út)
II: Íslands er lag” sees the strident, finger-
jabbing intensity replaced by a loose,
glam groove as they morph into what can
effectively be described as Roxy Music
jamming with Can while drunk on Bren-
nivín. Meanwhile, the sleazy Benzedrine
stomp of “ABC” recalls the likes of The
Sensational Alex Harvey Band. The al-
bum’s production also displays a growing
evolution of their sound from the rawness
of ‘Ali.’ The recording/production work of
guitarist Albert Finnbogason reveals a lot
of deft touches and overdubs, including a
guitar chop on “Tík” and a cheering crowd
of children and jungle sounds on “Þurz.”
They also break out the string sections to
good effect on “Flýja” and “Sá mig í spegli
(Káinn).”
While ‘Ali’ was a concept album of mor-
bid fetishism and self-obsession centered
around a woman named Lísa, the lyrical
themes of ‘Rökrétt framhald’ are a more
diffused, personal affair. Songs about the
odd-couple relationship with your flat-
mate (“Sambýlismannablús”), thinking
about love and lust while kneading pizza
dough (“Tík”) and paying attention to the
life lessons your parents gave you (“Þurz”)
are meshed with lyrical references to old
Icelandic songs, such as Súkkat’s “Vont
en það venst” and “Nóttin.” But there is a
strong swell of bitterness and exhaustion
lurking underneath the musical energy.
On “Allt má (má út) II: Íslands er lag,” Gun-
nar Ragnarsson mews, “I drink the moon-
shine/Sleep in and ‘snooze’ the problem/
What’s so exciting on the other side of life/
Is it the blue expanse?” (translation mine).
On “Vonin blíð,” Gunnar daydreams of a
fantasy scenario of tropical climbs and
“Campari sunsets” with a loved one, but
feels uneasy at the realisation that this love
has been lost for good. And “Melankólía”
is a song that does what it says on the tin,
a dirge of torpor where the unhappiness is
embellished by a rickety tune performed
by the band swapping their instruments.
By the time we reach “Sá mig í spegli
(Káinn)” with an emotional coda provided
by the 19th Century poet Káinn, the mood
has spiralled from exuberance to a cur-
dled downer.
‘Rökrétt framhald’ is an album that
sees Grísalappalísa’s wannabe street
toughs graduate from young party boys
to louche self-consciousness, the musi-
cal strutting, glitter and smeared make-up
covering a romantic gloom and weary pal-
lor. It’s a road in pop and rock history that
has been well travelled (see that Roxy Mu-
sic comparison again), yet is still relevant
to many introspective twentysomethings
who find the good times beginning to pale.
As such, on the first listen, ‘Rökrétt
framhald’ doesn’t have the bluff and blus-
ter of Grísalappalísa’s debut album, which
may cause you to think that they’ve run
out of steam. But it requires several listens
for the little depths to be pondered and
savoured. It needs to grow on you for its
true colours to be revealed. And while the
incessant hype train of Iceland’s culture
industry may have moved on to other fresh
meat, these guys are going to be around
for a long while yet.
- BOB CLUNESS
I put on Lily The Kid’s EP, ‘Main-
land’, early in the morning. As
Lilja’s ethereal voice emerged,
a housemate remarked that it
was “perfect morning music.” “Unless this
gives way to a wrenching punk scream—
for all we know,” I smarmily replied.
We were both pleased when the
equally ethereal piano joined in, followed
by the delicate, upbeat percussion of
their first single, “Pedro.” Then the synths.
Those smooth synths, layered like a cake.
The morning vibes only got better and bet-
ter as the EP wore on.
“Breathe” progresses more slowly with
atypical, soul-inflected beats, reminiscent
of FKA twigs. “Ghost” is the simplest and
poppiest track on the record, without los-
ing any of the intricacy of the other songs.
The EP closes with the stunningly rich title
track, which demonstrates Lily The Kid’s
ability to balance the chilliness of synths
and drum machine beats with warm, hu-
man vocals and instrumental percussion
to create an exquisite lushness.
When I learned the EP dropped several
months ago, I had to ask myself what I’d
been listening to all this time. While it may
have been early in the morning, I was late
in the game with Lily The Kid. If this hap-
pens to be your first exposure, be glad you
have time to catch up before they drop a
full album. Soon, please?
- GRAYSON DEL FARO
Album
Reviews
Grísalappalísa
‘Rökrétt framhald’
facebook.com/aliGrísalappalísa
All the young (old) dudes
being introspective
Lily The Kid
'Mainland'
facebook.com/lilykidkid
Please, Lily, release a full
album already!
Even though electronic musician
Skurken has been active for over a
decade now, he shows no signs of age-
ing on his latest single, which bears the
beautiful title “Straumur” (like our dear
web-zine and radio show). It starts off
with the sound of running water, before a
micro beat kicks in and an ocean of mel-
odies and warm synth pads wash over
your head like a slow-motion waterfall.
It’s the first single from his forthcoming
LP ‘Nónfjall’, which is out in the begin-
ning of September on the mighty fine
electronic label Raftónar. You can hear
Skurken’s “Straumur” and watch the ac-
companying music video on YouTube.
We are starting to get really pumped
for Iceland Airwaves festival, which is
happening on November 4-8. Earlier
this week, the festival announced its full
lineup, which includes exiting inter-
national acts like Ariel Pink, Battles,
Beach House, Hinds, Kero Kero Bo-
nito, Mourn, QT, and Skepta (and
many more!). The festival will close with a
grand final party at the Vodafone Hall on
Sunday night, where the wonderful elec-
tronic wizards of Hot Chip will perform,
among others.
Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach document
the local music scene and help people
discover new music at www.straum.
is. It is associated with the radio show
Straumur on X977, which airs every
Monday evening at 23:00.
We just got our hands on the debut LP from A&E Sounds.
It’s an impeccably produced collection of dreamy psy-
chedelic ghost pop that travels back and forth between
the upper and bottom registers of consciousness. The
soundscape is mainly made up of light acoustic strum-
ming, woozy organs, twanging slide guitars, slow-moving
drones and reverb-drenched vocals mumbling lyrics of
bleak existential despair. It’s an atmospheric soundtrack
for a road trip in the desert with a few pit stops in ghost
towns. The album is a vinyl-only release that is beauti-
fully designed by the band’s progenitor Þórður Gríms-
son, formerly of Two Step Horror, and is accompanied by
unique artwork for each of the album’s tracks. You’ll find
the album in every respectable record store, and the band
will be hosting a release party and concert on August 28
at Boston (the bar). A&E Sounds also released a mind-ex-
panding music video for the track “Sunday Driver,” which
was made by visual artist Jonathan McCabe and draws
inspiration from the mathematical equations of Alan Tur-
ing (find it on YouTube).
Photo
Nanna Dís
Words
Davíð Roach Gunnarsson & Óli Dóri
STRAUMUR
Psychedelic Ghost
Pop, Straumur &
Airwaves
Straumur radio show airs
Mondays on X977 at 23:00
Straumur www.straum.is