Iceland review - 2012, Page 10

8 ICELAND REVIEW
enjoyMent guaranteed
exorciSe
Tilbury
tilbury was put together back in 2010 and is composed
of musicians from some of iceland’s best bands, for
example, Skakkamanage, Valdimar, hjaltalín, Sin fang,
amiina and Jeff Who? they describe themselves as
dramatic folk pop but i get more of a soft rock vibe,
especially in tracks like “eclectic Boogaloo.” the best
track on the album is tilbury’s single “tenderloin.” What
a summer song! other stand-out numbers include the
pervy-in-a-good-way “trembling” and “Slow Motion
fighter.” a few of the tracks felt like something i’d heard
before—nothing i could quite place, but still, familiar. yet
that doesn’t take away from the fact that the music is
solid—enjoyment is basically guaranteed. listen to this
album in the early afternoon with a few beers and some
friends. deserving of special mention is the cool cover
with green goopy faces and pink shirts. What’s not to
love? NÁ
02
Culture Club
03
iceland in a nutShell
the LittLe book of the iceLAnderS
Alda Sigmundsdóttir
although “stuffed with sweeping generalizations and subjective
opinions, armchair philosophies and random musings,” as its
author alda Sigmundsdóttir readily admits, The Little Book of the
Icelanders is in fact quite accurate when describing the peculiar
psyche and common traits of the three hundred thousand souls
who inhabit iceland. Whether it’s the need for independence,
naming traditions, aversion to public transport, the cult of
facebook, the social function of the hot tubs, the shower police,
the absence of the courtship phase, or some other thing that
characterizes the nation, she addresses it with a great sense
of humor and a healthy dose of honesty. a seasoned writer,
journalist, translator and blogger, alda has written extensively
about iceland for the international media, and in the wake of the
2008 economic collapse, her blog “the iceland Weather report”
gained great popularity. With english as her first language, alda
was born in iceland, socialized in north america and has also
lived in the uK, Cyprus, and germany. it is therefore safe to say
that she sees her native country through the eyes of a local as
well as with the discerning eye of the guest. ÁÁ