Album Reviews
Make it’s Eld sure ing!
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ELDING WHALE WATCHING from Reykjavik
Elding Whale Watching schedule – all year round EL-01 / EL-02 / EL-03
Jan-Feb
Mar 9:00
13:00
13:00
Apr 9:00
May 9:00
Jun 9:00 10:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 14:00 17:00* 17:00 20:30**
Jul 9:00 10:00 13:00 14:00 17:00 20:30
Aug Sep Oct Nov-Dec 9:00 9:00 9:00 10:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 14:00 17:00 17:00*
* From 15 May to 15 September ** From 15 June to 31 July
Imagine Peace Tower tour From 10th of October until 8th of December Daily departure at 20:00 Different departures apply from 9th of December until 26th of March
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NORTHERN LIGHTS CRUISE Daily departures from 01 September
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Agent Fresco 'Destrier' www.agentfresco.is
Mostly hints at what could have been, or for the optimists: at better things to come. There are some high-quality moments on 'Destrier'—the play with harmonics (and is that a Tartini tone I hear?) for the intro/outro; or from the 2:30 mark onward on “Dark Water,” for instance. The latter example highlights the technical skill on the part of the keyboardist (as well as in the vocals—Arnór Dan Arnarson has knack for falsetto), features a clever change in rhythm and a build-up to a full, wide sound that, if anything, is cut off too soon. It's the kind of post-hardcore, progadjacent variation-via-bridge that suits Agent Fresco. In its weakest moments, 'Destrier'
flirts with a particularly egregious kind of musical melodrama. You know: the kind most often abused in gothicmetal, that relies heavily on operatic, reverb-generated pathos and decidedly declarative compositional quality (a kind of hammering conflated with intensity)—along with weakly imagistic lyrical stylings as a means to not so much elicit as extort an emotional response. Thankfully, Agent Fresco are too smart to fall into this trap for the most part; they understand that while accessibility and emotional resonance are key, one doesn't always have to make it easy, or force it down our throats.
(“Tonight”—sample lyric: “Tonight, I’m going to fuck you tonight...”). Fræbblarnir called it quits in 1983, but reformed in 1996 when Bad Taste released a compilation of their early recordings to great acclaim—and nineteen years later, they’re still going strong. Fræbblarnir’s newest LP is called ‘Í hnotskurn’ (“In a nutshell”) and is their ninth release (and fifth full-length). It includes twelve original songs, some in
English and others in Icelandic. To the unacquainted, Valli’s voice is the first thing that stands out in Fræbblarnir’s sound. At first listen, he sounds like a mix of David Byrne and Joey Ramone, yet with his own intonations and accents (that to me often sounds like that of a mental patient’s—I mean this in the best possible way, as a huge compliment). Through the essential girlie backing vocals of one Iðunn, the overall sound is rendered simultaneously softer— and weirder. Fræbblarnir have always possessed strong songwriting skills, and this album bears the fact good witness, with catchy choruses and harsh guitars coming together in especially pleasant combinations. My favorite song is the wonderfully eccentric country-punk rocker “Bugging Leo,” which reminds me of one of my favorite Icelandic bands, Texas Jesús. - HEIÐA EIRÍKSDÓTTIR
one of those bands that has way too few releases to their name, considering their incredible live shows and how generally well-regarded they are. Their début fulllength, ‘Sýnið tillitssemi ég er frávik’ (“Be Considerate, I Am A Divergence”), was released in 2006—and it’s only just now that we’re getting a second helping of that wonderful Æla music on tape.
On the new album, ‘Vettlingatök’ (“Handle with kid gloves”), the songwriting has grown more complex, while retaining the element of surprise and fun the band made its name on. The first album had fifteen songs, most of them around the two-minute mark, but the new one has twelve, with half of them over three minutes long. My current favourite is “Fyrir þig” (“For you”)—at four and a half minutes, it displays elements of krautrock mixed in with the band’s agressive, punky sound, never coming off too raw or unrefined. It sounds like Æla granted themselves permission to let their songs fully realize this time around. Perhaps the songs on the first album were more like seeds, and now the Æla-plant has fully blossomed.
Fræbbblarnir 'Í hnotskurn' www.fraebbblarnir.com
Crazier than ever!
Formed in 1978, Fræbbblarnir is considered one of Iceland’s first punk rock bands, paving the way for the great punk wave of the early 80s. There’s a memorable moment in ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’, director Friðrik Þór’s fabled document of the fledgling Reykjavík punk scene, where Fræbblarnir shock the whole nation by singing very graphically about the act of fucking in a song called “Í nótt”
Æla ‘Vettlingatök’ www.nordicaffect.com
The Æla plant blossoms
Æla was formed in a garage somewhere on the Reykjanes peninsula by four guys who wanted to sound like Purrkur Pillnikk (that legendary punk band fronted by Sugarcube Einar Örn). They quickly drew notice for their on-stage energy, winning over many an audience with their short, fun and surprising songs. They are
'Destrier' perhaps suffers from problematic pacing. Its length isn't particularly extravagant, but some interesting ideas are dropped within a matter of seconds, while tamer, more expected compositions are given significantly more space. This, combined with such an oddly limited sound palette (for a band that seems at least in theory to want to flex their technical skill in the realm of maximalism), leads to a certain staleness as the album draws to a close. The combined musical lineage of all the influences on this album's sound, and the precedent for experimentation in those scenes, may lead you to hope (as I did) for the album to go much further than it does. And though there is something to be said for a band that gives you just enough to leave you wanting more, 'Destrier' is far more a tease of the band's full potential (spoiler alert: they've got a lot) than a realisation. - SAMUEL WRIGHT FAIRBANKS