Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.08.2013, Qupperneq 39

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“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
THE FRESHEST FISH ....AND IDEAS!
SKÓLAVÖRÐUSTÍGUR 14 - 101 REYKJAVÍK - 571 1100
After 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.
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Bárujárn
Bárujárn
2013
http://barujarn.bandcamp.com/
Finally…
Bárujárn got a lot of hype a few
years back when they hit the scene
with their inventive breed of dark
surf rock that featured the oldest
electronic instrument out there, the
theremin, which is rarely used nowa-
days (outside of the occasional sci-fi
soundtrack). However, they never
managed to put out a proper album—
and then went on extended hiatus
about three years ago. But finally,
they’re back, and they thankfully
brought an LP along.
Bárujárn’s self-titled debut is a
unique listening experience for sure.
It starts with the sound of the ocean,
before the twanging guitars chime
in, underscored by low-key theremin
hiss. It’s like The Shadows with a
darker shade of sunglasses playing in
the nighttime on a black-sanded Ice-
landic beach.
Aside from some excellent surf-
Albu
m Reviews
ing workouts on the guitar, many of
the melodies and lyrics bear resem-
blance to old Icelandic folk songs.
Sometimes the theremin assumes
the role that a male choir usually
does in Icelandic folk music, and in
“Sírena” (“Siren”) it takes the centre
stage, weaving a lingering lullaby
to a hypnotic effect. Latin-sounding
horns spice up “Cha Cha Cha” and
lone cover “Brennið þið vitar” (“Burn,
You Lighthouses”) is an old epic Ice-
landic choir staple that suits the band
perfectly. In “Skuggasörf “ (“Shadow
Surf”) and Þula (“Mantra”) the guitar
and theremin go head to head on a
collision course in a collective freak-
out, effectively mesmerizing the lis-
tener.
It’s a bit strange listening to a band
coming out with an album after such
a long time of inactivity, especially
when it features so many songs they
used to play a lot three years ago.
Also, the mixing could be better on
some of the songs, especially the
vocals, which sometimes sound too
muddy. Still, Bárujárn are one of a
kind, and I’m really glad they finally
put those songs to tape.
- Davíð Roach Gunnarsson
Music
Who’s That Guy?
There are two statues outside the House of Government in Læk-
jargata. The one on the right depicts Hannes Hafstein, “Ráðher-
ra,” as it notes.
“Ráðherra” actually means “Minister” and Hannes is not the
only minister in Iceland’s history, just the first one. That is, in
1904 he was the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish cabi-
net as Minister for Iceland. The statue, by sculptor Einar Jónsson,
was revealed on December 4, 1931, when Hannes—who passed
away nine years prior—would have turned 70. A mass of people
gathered around for the unveiling of the statue, as Hannes was
well liked and admired by majority of his countrymen.
But what did he do to deserve this status?
Well, apart from smoothing communications between Den-
mark and Iceland by becoming a great friend to the Danish king
and suggesting Iceland have its own minister, Hannes wrote
beautiful poetry where he paid tribute to Iceland and, respective-
ly, the Icelandic weather with poems such as “Ég elska þig stor-
mur” (“I Love You, Storm”). Hannes was also a fan of the poetry
of Jónas Hallgrímsson, who died long before his time in 1835. So,
in 1883, Hannes published a collection of Jónas’s works, aiding
in making Jónas Iceland’s national poet years after his death. In
fact, Jónas’s birthday, November 16th, has been declared the na-
tional day of the Icelandic language.
Hannes was also a family man but lost his beloved wife at the
age of 52, with eight children to take care of. After witnessing the
horrendous fire of 1915, when two men died and twelve houses in
the centre of Reykjavík were destroyed in a blaze, Hannes wanted
to contribute to the reconstruction of the downtown and have a
fireproof house built. The house at Grundarstígur 10 is therefore
one of the first fifteen concrete houses to be built in Reykjavík,
and really was somewhat of a palace in its time.