Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) Records on Laugavegur, 101 Reykjavik, have a reassuring end-of-aisle display of CDs bearing the title "Smekkleysa Recommends:". Music (literally) to my English-speaking, tune-hungry ears. I pick out a few with covers that grab me (my tried & tested, yet not always successful, method of choosing brand new music) and ask the extremely helpful man behind the counter what delights are in store for me should I buy them.
He describes Me, the Slumbering Napoleon's EP (the cover of which reminds me of Leeds' Tom Hudson's artwork) as noisy & heavy indie rock. I'm pretty much sold on this one and plump for the album as well just to be on the safe side. Apparently I also pick out another, heavier band (Morðingjarnir), and a reggae act (hjálmar) as well as the electro-pop Bloodgroup, (whose latest release Dry Land I later buy from ridiculously ace store Havari across town) and indie-rockers (with the emphasis on rock, apparently) kimono. I arbitrarily opt to buy the latter to accompany my first choice, along with the achingly gorgeous Hafdis Huld's new record Synchronised Swimmers. I'm very tempted by the rest but I force myself to take it steady for once - a decision I regret within about 20 minutes when I see a review (complete with live pictures) of Bloodgroup's Dry Land in a cafe magazine, and instantly feel I'm missing out on a lot of beeps, beats and energy.
So - I resolve to track a copy down during our packed sight-seeing schedule (made tighter by us not waking up till sunrise (11am), leaving the hotel considerably later, and the shops inconsiderately shutting at 6pm). Havari is on our list of places to check out and when we eventually find it (on our last day), there is another very helpful lady (whose husband we discover designs gig posters) more than happy to explain to us what the bands are like (despite seeming mildly baffled by our untypically-English enthusiasm). She explains that Dry Land is being hailed as the "best album to come out of Iceland this year" - she's not sure that any album deserves quite that much hype, but she does think it's bloody good, explaining that their first release Sticky Situation was lots of fun but not much more - the band have taken some time out to "find themselves" though and she thinks it's paid off - the songs are better written, more powerful, more exciting, and it shows she tells us. She says she likes it. I buy the record.Back at the hotel, it doesn't disappoint - the first track My Arms kicks in with haunting but instantly magnetic synths and a heartbeating kick drum. The pace is instantly addictive but relaxing. Track two This Heart has the beeps, twangs, clicks and determined syncopated beats I was promised - classily put together, singer Lilja's voice makes the ever so slightly dirtiness of this track sound pure as her glacial voice. She shares vocal duties with one of the boys (they neglect to tell us which one) and the contrast between his and her voices only make it more electrifying. I've started to dance about to this in my head. This can only be a good thing.
The rest of the album is haunting, driving - god there's that icily stunning voice of Lilja's again - and upbeat, pacey. Overload and Pro Choice are Kraftwerk-tinged noughties gems, and while Moonstone and Dry Land are the token chill-out tracks, it's hard not to imagine a crowd chanting the chorus to the raw beats of Battered. To say the whole album wouldn’t be out of place as a James Bond soundtrack would be too one-dimensional a description of Bloodgroup’s cinematic crafting of beats, synths, strings and THOSE vocals. Go listen, go dance in your bedroom, go chill out. Go dress up, go drink cocktails and pretend you’re in a film. A really really cool one.
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