The Icelandic Canadian - 01.02.2007, Side 46

172
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 60 #4
EIV0R PALSDOTT
Eivor
CD by Eivor Palsdottir
Produced by Spirit River, Edmonton, AB
Reviewed by Mykael Sopher
Icelandic singer/songwriter Eivor
Palsdottir is a legend in the making. After
releasing her debut album at the mere age
of 17, and winning the Faroese musical
competition as the lead singer of the rock
group Clickhaze the following year, a
healthy buzz began to follow Eivor wher-
ever she went. This notoriety ultimately led
to Eivor being awarded the prestigious
“Best Singer 2003” and “Best Performer
2003” at the Icelandic music awards. Now
a known musical force, Eivor’s next project
was a collaborative record with Canadian
singer/songwriter Bill Bourne, a record
that earned the pair a nomination for best
pop record 2004 at the Icelandic music
awards.
This CD, simply titled Eivor, is an
excellent showcase of these two creative
songwriters’ abilities. It is also a brilliant
exhibition of Eivor’s talents at being able to
sing in four different languages - Icelandic,
English, Swedish, and Faroese. Eivor’s pro-
ficiency in singing in several languages
combined with multitude of genres found
on this album - including latino, rock, and
folk - make this one of the most diverse
records I have ever heard.
While Eivor’s mellifluous vocals soar
throughout the CD’s entirety, her singing
talents shine on the tracks sung in her
native Icelandic tongue and on the tracks
sung in English. Consider the album’s
opener, Vi3 Gengum Tvo,” a latino num-
ber sung in Icelandic overtop of sparse, but
effective acoustic guitars. It is a simple song
in structure but when combined with
Eivor’s beautiful vocals, it is elevated to
something magical. The next track, “Only
a Friend of Mine,” is sung in English and is
one of the CD’s catchiest tracks. The effi-
cacious recurring line ‘who is knocking on
my front door?’ sung over strummed
acoustic guitars is difficult not to sing along
with. The rest of the album however, is not
easy to ignore, particularly the touching “If
I needed you”, a duet sung by Eivor and
Bourne. All in all Eivor is a highly diverse,
but undeniably superb CD that secures
Eivor’s place among such Icelandic con-
temporaries as Sigur Ros and Bjork.