Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson – Dense Time
We got this CD months ago, and we never put it on the stereo. It comes in a jewel case, just a piss yellow booklet on it saying the author […]
Shitting Glitter – Free Alongside Ship
Shitting Glitter are a so-so pop band trying to pass themselves off as a fashionable industrial electro-clash band, but it just isn’t working. Their attempts at sounding danceabl
Æla – Sýnið tillitsemi, ég er frávik
Keflavík punk prima donnas Æla’s debut release is a serious sufferer of Garage Band Syndrome, an illness that manifests itself by having a lead singer that drags the rest of [&
Flaming Lips – At War With the Mystics
We watched, and listened to, the Flaming Lips drive an Acid Punk movement in the 90s, then they blew the introspective noise rock genre that the more popular Smashing Pumpkins [&he
Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
The last three years we’ve heard nothing but Danger Mouse, first with the Grey Album, then with Gorillaz’ Demon Days, and now with Gnarls Barkley. This year’s release from Da
Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Doing an album of Pete Seeger classics isn’t all that imposing a task. Pete Seeger influenced a lot of people, befriended a lot of people, but as much as Seeger […]
Reykjavík! – Glacial Landscapes, Religion, Oppression & Alcohol
For an album bearing Iceland’s identifying hallmarks as its title, Reykjavík!’s debut is surprisingly un-Icelandic, especially in its frenetic and swerving mood swings and cra
Bremen Town Musician – Silent Arrows
Silent Arrows is a secretive work. Forlorn, hypnotic and ethereal, it is blessed with the rare ability to experiment without being pretentious, consisting almost solely of gentle,
192-Hour Party People
Grapevine goes to the Roskilde FestivalIt would take a die-hard stalwart of a Guns ‘N Roses fan to be satisfied with the million-dollar joke the distinctly ungainly Axl Rose pull
Quantum Leap: We Did it Sam, We Saved Homoerotic Icelandic Rock!!
I had seen Icelandic rock icons HAM 15 years ago at Fellahellir. I thought they looked like freaks (guess they still do) and I was actually a little bit scared […]
How the Techno and Lo-fi Show Didn’t Disappoint
Reykjavík is the kind of place where, one day, the neighbour that you never realised spoke English will knock on your door and tell you that the rest of your […]
MORÐINGJARNIR – Í GÖTUNNI MINNI
High-velocity trashcan punk from the not-so-gritty streets of suburban Iceland, this scant half-hour of awkwardly political sound-destruction plays and feels tight and well-constru
A Hardcore Seminar In Political Apathy
The atmosphere was strange at Grand Rokk. The New York band The Gang didn’t seem to attract a large audience. Most in attendance were there to see Æla and/or Benny […]
KOJA – KOJA
Forced yet sloppy, random yet predictable, difficult yet forgettable – it’s amazing how many times Koja can contradict their own music without really going anywhere. It’s jus
GUMMI JÓNS – JAML
45 minutes or so of ho-hum acoustic guitar pop fiddled out to the steady beat of a drum machine, Jaml is a pleasant enough entry into the solo archives of […]
ANDREA GYLFADÓTTIR / ELLEN KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR / HILDUR VALA / RAGNHEIÐUR GRÖNDAL / SIGRÍÐUR EYÞÓRSDÓTTIR – ÍSLENSK ÁSTARLÖG
Upon a glance at dictionary.com’s definition of the word boring, this came up: “refer(s) to what is so uninteresting as to cause mental weariness. Boring implies feelings of li
Thugz on Parole – Rape Time!
Although live recordings seldom do hip-hop bands justice, Thugs On Parole’s performance at Hitt Húsið may just be the single most energetic, hilarious, bracing and altogether p
Breaking the Chains
The seminal hardcore band I Adapt have been at the forefront of the Icelandic hardcore scene for over five years. They are about to release their third album, and have […]
Lára – Þögn
Foregoing unnecessary complications and abstract pretences, singer/songwriter Lára Rúnarsdóttir’s sophomore release, is at times, an honest, pretenceless portrayal of heartbre
Barði Jóhannsson – Haxan
Barði Jóhannsson’s accompanying symphonic score to Danish recluse Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 surreal witchcraft documentary is very much Barði, with Bang Gang’s signature
Til Hamingju Ísland! – 20 Ár í Eurovision
Maybe it’s just my odd sense of patriotism, but Iceland’s entries into the Eurovision Song Contest don’t seem to sexually violate one’s ear as badly as most of the other [&