Archive for the ‘Iceland’ Category
July 1, 2008
Sigur Rós
með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
June 24th 2008
X L
Perhaps inspired by the success of their last effort Heima / Hvarf-Heim, Sigur Rós recorded með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust with a heightened sense of pop-thought and melody. Gone seem to be the days of brooding overtures spilling over walls of thick harmonic noise. Med Sud is not offering a correction to some flawed formula; it has not shed what is superfluously unnecessary, rather it is the leg contour as seen through a summer dress happily worn after the glacier’s recession. Icelandic for “with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly,” með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust belies Sigur Rós’ self awareness that rejects the accumulation of star-power, instead favoring the humble roles of music makers with intimate attention to detail and an endless commitment to the art rather than constructed personae that sadly distract many once great contemporaries.
The spiritedly named Gobbledigook begins Med Sud with an overwhelming punch. Tribal drums drive Jónsi Birgisson‘s falsetto, while the bass’ melodic structure abandons its typical role as a rhythmic supplement, mimicking instead the vocal notes, which contrast the low register of the bass and Jónsi’s high pitch voice. Complete with hand claps and sampled sequences of spritely lalalalalala’s, Gobbledigook is an intensely elevating track. Sigur Rós chose wisely to open their much anticipated release with such a masterful conceptualization.
Med Sud descends from its initial burst with grace. The record can be largely, even if simplistically, seen to be divided into two sections. The first maintains a pulsating optimism, replete with bright tones and splendor, the second half, beginning with Festival, softens to a spectrum of pastels; still emotionally above board, yet subdued with a calm and reflective contemplation. The album approaches its end as day approaches dusk. Med Sud is a great record, brought about by Sigur Rós’ sense of beauty, their reverence of humility, and their willingness to put their art form first.
-FF
8/9
http://www.sigurros.com
http://www.myspace.com/sigurros
Other Records
Von- 1997 (2004 US)
Von Brigði- 1998
Ágætis byrjun- 1999 (2001 US)
( ) – 2002
Takk… – 2005
Hvarf-Heim- 2007
Posted in 2008, 8 Points, Bands, Bands, Collectives, and Artists, Frederick Foxtrott, Hillbilly, Iceland, Indie, LP, Music, Music Review, Sigur Rós, Uncategorized, XL Recordings | Tagged 2008, 8 Points, Bands, Frederick Foxtrott, Iceland, Indie, Music, Music Review, Post-Rock, Sigur Rós, X L | 2 Comments »
April 10, 2008
Silje nes
Ames Room
March 11th 2008
FatCat Records
Ames Room is not a complicated record, but it contains an elemental beauty and depth that is rarely ever captured by the deliberate and dogmatic procedures that often accompany music writing and production. Silje nes has assembled a broad spectrum of sounds with the sole purpose of creating soft and tender textures that evoke an ethereal space in which all who hear can exist for the short moments that each song lasts. The songs were meant to be listened to in your living room, in the Spring with the windows wide open and the Sun illuminating every particle in the room. With Silje nes, even the dust that floats in the Spring Sun becomes hovering orbs that accentuate the sprightly, feminine music.
Though released in America on March 11th 2008, Silje recorded Ames Room between the Autumn of 2004 and the Summer of 2007. She took the time to compile songs that reflected different moments during the evolution of her music. Before 2004 she sent tracks to FatCat to demo her work. The label began to recognize the possibilities and worked with her to compile Ames Room. The record is layered with guitars, synthesizers, drum machines, as well as the rich and organic tones of the cello and drum kit. The light percussive aspect of Ames Room gives the entire record a music box quality complete with tinks, bells, clicks, and chimes.
This Norwegian voice and textural style has a pure naturalistic sound that would fit nicely into a multi-disc CD player with Múm, Sigur Rós, and The Album Leaf’s In a Safe Place. While Múm and Silje nes are both signed to FatCat, I do not think that this is because of Múm’s long coat tails, rather because FatCat, XL, and others are beginning to delineate a mode of music production that is separate from the doldrums of that vast chasm that is the “post rock” genre. It just seems to be happening in Iceland and the Nordic North. I am sure that a catchy name will soon be circulated to describe the sound’s style and emphasis on the purity and innocence that music can achieve. Silje nes’ Ames Room is imperfect and has much room to improve, but we can only hope that more music comes our way from this grand artist.
6/9
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/siljenes
Other Music
Yellow EP- 2008
Posted in 2008, 6 Points, Bands, Electronic-Phonic, Experimental, FatCat Records, Frederick Foxtrott, Iceland, Indie, Múm, Music, Music Review, Norway, Sigur Rós, Silje nes, XL Recordings | Tagged 2008, 6 Points, Electronic-Phonic, Experimental, FatCat Records, Frederick Foxtrott, Iceland, Indie, Múm, Music, Music Review, Norway, Sigur Rós, Silje nes, XL Recordings | Leave a Comment »
December 21, 2007
Múm
Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy
September 14th 2007
FatCat Records
To make a longish story shortish, twins Kristín Anna and Gyða Valtýsdóttir formed a band with Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, two musicians who are heavily involved in the Icelandic music scene. They called themselves Múm and produced experimental electronic concoctions that received the attention of indie music scenes in Britain, Continental Europe, and The United States. Attention had been paid to Iceland largely due to a surge in creative output such as independent films like Nói Albínói in 2003, the notoriety of friends Sigur Rós on the international art-media scene, and of course the long sustained reverence of Björk in the music world. Iceland had produced artistic figures that succeeded across the media spectrum.
Icelandic bands like Múm began to appear in important CD players owned by important people, much the same as Sigur Rós had in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Gyða left in 2002 and her sister Kristín Anna followed in 2006 apparently over stylistic differences, leaving few original members. Those who remained decided to keep the moniker Múm but they recorded an album that broke away from their heavily electronic style, emphasizing a large selection of acoustic and traditional instruments fused with drum sequences and synthesized textures. The result of this decision was Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy. Whatever provoked the change in style led to a nicely contoured and improved experience of the music. Múm in all its incarnations by and large seeks to create music that is experiential. It is apparent that some in the band felt that the contrast between organic instruments and fabricated beats would give the band better control over the soundscape through which the listener would travel.
The album title and track names fit the stylistic change emphasizing the idea that Múm views Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy as a conceptually cogent work. Naturalistic elements such as brambles, frogs, berries, marmalade, rhubarb, and winter are used to construct a bucolic atmosphere and a dreamy mood. For the first time male vocals can be found on a Múm record. The beautiful instrumentation of Moon Pulls is tied to the grace and whimsy of Marmalade Fires by a masculine voice and sprightly melody. The childish nature of Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy is largely defined by its display of innocence, fantasy, excitement, and openness, rather than a childishness of conceit, immaturity, or irrelevancy.
Importantly, I should not understate the electronic presence throughout the record. It is not necessarily the lack of electronic sounds that delineates Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy from previous records, but its contrast with more traditional instruments. Dancing Behind My Eyelids is a perfect example of this juxtaposition. This track has become one of my all time favorite electronic pieces. It is a synthesized masterpiece with the brightest sequencing I have heard since Xiu Xiu’s 2006 release Air Force. It is followed by Schoolhouse Misfortune, which begins as a seaside ditty and then transforms into a flurry of melodic whistles, bells, and harp strings backed by a mechanized type-set. The record then eases into a cool and dark track called I Was Her Horse, which reminiscent of New Orleans slow jazz, perfectly fusing late night smoky horns with a dirge hollowly echoing in the streets of the French Quarter. When all is said and done, Múm has committed a feat of excellence and whoever among them had the instincts to revise their style saved the band from fading away due to redundancy; a fate they were fastly approaching.
7/9
http://mum.trinitystreetdirect1.com/mailinglist/
http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/artistInfo.php?id=49
http://www.myspace.com/mumtheband
Other Music
Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK- 2000; reissued 2005
Finally We Are No One- 2002
Summer Make Good- 2004
Posted in 2007, 7 Points, Bands, Electronic-Phonic, Electronica, FatCat Records, Iceland, Indie, Múm, Music, Music Review, Sigur Rós | Tagged 2007, 7 Points, Bands, Electronic-Phonic, FatCat Records, Iceland, Indie, Múm, Music, Music Review, Sigur Rós | Leave a Comment »
December 19, 2007
Sigur Rós
Hvarf-Heim
November 5th 2007
Xl Recordings
Loosely defined as “Haven-Home” or “Disappeared Home” Hvarf-Heim accompanies the release of the Sigur Rós produced documentary Heima chronicling their spontaneous return to Iceland where they played shows at various locations both in the wilderness and in a factory long since abandoned. The duality of the title underscores two central themes throughout the film. The first is Sigur Rós’ desire to illustrate the qualities of Iceland and its people that they believe have contributed to their music. The second is the increasing presence of the mining industry in the natural and majestic Icelandic landscape, which they fear is having irrevocably adverse effects on the country’s pristine environs. Heima was an effort for Sigur Rós to explicate to their audience the role that their homeland has played in the production of their music. Iceland’s aesthetic beauty and artistic spirit are the muses from which the band has drawn its creativity. Iceland provides a sanctuary from the corporate worlds of Europe and The United States, worlds that question the humble and unimposing manner in which Sigur Rós have chosen to present themselves.
Hvarf-Heim contains both unreleased tracks as well as older songs that have been conceptualized in a manner more in tune with their present style. The rerecorded songs from Hvarf are new takes from the earliest Sigur Rós album Von, which is largely an album stranded in the ether and is seemingly unable to express intent, purpose, or meaning. The new versions restructure the songs in a way that maintains their experimental nature but allows the listener to better engage the music. As the band has progressed through the years their music has matured and found a stylistically unique voice. Hvarf represents a reflection on Sigur Rós’ past; it recognizes their growth and is an homage to their origins.
Heim on the other hand plays with tracks spanning throughout Sigur Rós’ catalogue. These songs are recorded acoustically and emphasize their organic foundation. There are few things I dislike more than bands repackaging old songs and selling them as new releases in order combat their diminished capabilities and the prospect of their obsolescence, but Hvarf-Heim is a work that successfully expands on what has already been offered, rather then simply reiterating what has already been said. Hvarf-Heim connects the listener to a band that is content in their obscurity and hermeticism; it increases the enjoyment of previous records because it contextualizes the music into a broader community. Sigur Rós are no longer experimental postrockers, they are a representation of a people and country and they replicate the spirit of that community through the depth and raw beauty of their music.
8/9
http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/sigurros
Other Music
Von- 1997
Von Brigði- 1998
Ágætis Byrjun- 1999
Rímur EP- 2001
( )- 2002
Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do EP- 2004
Takk…- 2005
Posted in 2007, 8 Points, Bands, Iceland, Indie, Music, Music Review, Post-Rock, Sigur Rós, XL Recordings | Tagged 2007, Iceland, Music Review, Post-Rock, Sigur Rós, XL Recordings | Leave a Comment »
