Enter The Court Of The Caterpillarmen
Sonic space monkeys Caterpillarmen are looking to get all prunky in your face! By Bob Cluness Ever since the release of their debut album ‘Adopt A Monkey’ in 2009, Caterpillarm
Continuous High-Octane Thunder Crash
I’m a bit of an asshole cynic when it comes to Canadian bands. Not because of Nickelback or anything—Nickelback rules!—but because I come from a city that Spin magazine releg
Stereo Hypnosis To Play Canadian Harvest Festival
Canada will get a taste of Icelandic electronica when Stereo Hypnosis plays the first night of the 2012 Harvest Festival on September 14. The father and son duo Óskar and [&hellip
Appetite For Self-Destruction
Let’s start at the end. “Did you get in here for free?” lead singer Páll Rósinkranz asked two little children jokingly, carrying bouquets of flowers to our heroes as their
Hare Kría, Hare Rama
Trying to recall specific details of Prince Rama’s performance at Faktorý is a bit like trying to piece together the sequence of events from a dream—or a shroom trip. It&#
From Chess Board To Sound Board
In September 1972, Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky were in Reykjavík for the World Chess Championship, pitted against each other in what would come to be known as the Match [&hell
Sudden Weather Change: Sculpture
In conversation with myself the other day, I proposed that scene darlings Sudden Weather Change don’t sound excited or fun anymore and that ‘Sculpture’ is the antithesis of t
Sudden Weather Change: A Meta-Metaphor
Since they released their debut album four years ago, Sudden Weather Change have carved a unique nook where ’90s lo-fi grunge meets tight-knit indie rock. The band, which took ho
Dirty Beaches Is Prowling The Badlands Of Harpa Tonight!
If you like your music rocking, rolling and blood red in tooth and claw, then we at The Grapevine heartily recommend that you go on down to Harpa tonight for […]
Ghostigital: Division Of Culture And Tourism
Six years after their sophomore LP, ‘In Cod We Trust,’ the boys from Ghostigital are back with a new offering: ‘Division Of Culture & Tourism.’ Musically, it doesn’t
Gimme Gimme Morr
Morr Music have released and distributed so much Icelandic music over the last decade that founder Thomas Morr says people sometimes mistake the label for an Icelandic company. But
Contalgen Funeral: Pretty Red Dress
‘Pretty Red Dress,’ the debut album from Contalgen Funeral, is definitely one of the most laughable pieces of wannabe bluescore posturing I’ve seen and heard in quite a while
Rafsteinn: Rebirth
In a break from their usual psychedelic/garage rock recordings on offer from Ching Ching Bling Bling, this five-track EP from artist Hafsteinn M. Guðmundsson (who looks like a Sta
Mike Pollock: Universal Routes
Something of a legend on the Reykjavík scene since the punk era, Mike Pollock seems to stake his claim as king of the blues too, as he rambles around from […]
Electric Sauna Soul
Jimi Tenor is the sort of guy I’ve heard about for a long time and been like “yeah, that guy sounds pretty interesting, I have to check him out sometime.” […]
Talk Of The Town
“Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loved me,” croons Tony Bennett from the stage of Harpa’s Eldborg Hall. “I do,” a woman who is prob-ably young enough to be his [&hell
Joe Dubius: Rainy day in the park
Joe Dubius is almost everything that a listener could want in a folk artist. Flaunting rough and tumble vocals (free of likeminded artist Ryan Adams’s hipper-than-thou posturing)
The House That Heaven Built
Japandroids is a two piece rock ‘n’ roll band from Vancouver, Canada, who have been playing up a storm and winning new fans for the past few years. And now […]
Arnar Ástráðsson: State Of Mind
Arnar Ástráðsson is a songwriter best known for having a song, “Ástin Mín Eina” (‘My One And Only’), that reached the Icelandic Eurovision finals in 2011. And
Múgsefjun: Múgsefjun
Complexity and experimentalism in rock and pop are to be enjoyed if done with the right level of panache and care (Can, Radiohead, Ariel Pink and Sparks, are the first […]
Two Step Horror: Bad Sides & Rejects
Really, if you call your album ‘Bad Sides & Rejects’ you’re setting yourself up for a fall. Or a snarky review or two. Out extends my leg for a metaphorical […]