Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Side 21

how deep you go personally.”
“We let each other have our own
space,” Nanna agrees. “Before, I think
we were always trying to fit each other
into the song.” She pauses, looking to
Raggi for an explanation. “It’s some-
thing that we changed,” he adds. “We’ve
always believed that everyone has to be
involved in everything, everyone has
to have a voice.” Nanna smiles. “We’re
super democratic.”
Jettisoning the idea of pleasing
everyone at all times turned out to be
useful. “Sometimes when you do that,
everything mushes into something
that’s in the middle,” says Raggi. “But on
‘Fever Dream’ there are more moments
when people shine by themselves.”
A proper
rock
anthem
The first single from the album, “Alli-
gator,” is a case in point. The song puts
Nanna’s voice front and centre in a
haze of guitars, thumping drums, and
fierce, gasping vocals. To put it bluntly:
It’s a proper rock anthem. With such
a desperate, clawing feel, it’s hard to
believe this is the same band propelled
to fame by “Little Talks.”
The video is just as intense. Featur-
ing the band in person—an unusual
departure for the group, who usually
animate their videos—the video
features Nanna’s dismembered head
growing alligator-like tendrils, while
the rest of the band resides in creepy
masks. Is this really the same band
who used to sing about forests?
We’re
actors
now?
“At the beginning, we were horrible at
being in videos,” Raggi admits. “We’re
musicians and all of a sudden, we’re
supposed to be actors as well?”
“I did act in the video though, I
knocked on a door,” he continues.
“What you don’t know is that in every
scene in every movie, there’s like 50
people staring at the actor. Is the light
good? Is his makeup good? He’s just
there knocking on a door.” Raggi shakes
his head. “How do they do that?”
For Nanna, the video was an equally
intense and hilarious experience. “I
had to crawl on the floor,” she adds, a
small smile lighting up her face. “When
you’re crawling on the floor in front of
a camera, it’s a lot.”
Waiting
with
bated
breath
But making the video was only one step
toward what they are really excited for,
which is their upcoming world tour.
“We haven’t played in three years,”
Nanna says, incredulous. “This album
was such a process to make. It’s taken
a long time. We wanted to get it really
right; it feels good to finally be at this
point.”
“We’re just waiting to play it live,”
Raggi adds. The two look at each other
fondly—the familial bond they share
resurfacing as they look together
towards their future. “We’ve been
rehearsing.” He pauses, a mischievous
look painting his face. In typical Raggi
and Nanna fashion, he can’t help but
end with a joke. “We’ve been playing
our old songs, and we still remem-
ber them,” he grins. “So that’s a great
start.”
21 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12— 2019
“We were
booking venues
and then kept
having to up-
grade to a big-
ger place. Every
time we planned
something, ‘Little
Talks’ got
bigger.”