Icelandic banking or British politics?

You know how there's always something you forget when you go on holiday? Well I've forgotten my guidebook. But actually it's not really that much of a disaster. I've been before, have a rough idea of a couple of the things I'd like to see, and am meeting up with a(n) acquaintance(s) who have offered to take me to hot rivers and to bars (I'm still assuming the names I was given were names of bars and not strip joints... I'll probably still go anyway mind..).

I have no actual plans and won't until I get there, but I think that's actually the kind of trip I want. I'm going to Reykjavik (amidst cries of "plug up that bloody volcano while you're there"; "so you're going to see the volcano then"; "is it safe?"; "HOW are you going to get there, aren't all the flights cancelled?" and "ooh isn't it expensive?"), and I loved it so much last time I went, I'm actually going this time to find out a  bit more about the real Reykjavik and Iceland, and seeing if it's somewhere I could live. Not having a guide book will mean I have to ignore my instinct to have lots of lie-ins, go buy some tourist tat and end up in Sodoma every night, and talk to people who live there, do as many different things as possible, and maybe even learn some Icelandic. Even though I can't roll my "R"s. One thing is certain, there will be lots of late nights and lots of stupid photographs taken :)

Despite all this yet-to-be-written adventure, I'm a little bit sad to be out of the UK this weekend, as I'll miss all the bitching, backstabbing and coercing that will see the future of my country unfold. A hung parliament (in any other country it would be referred to positively as an opportunity for coalition government, where politicians - gasp! - work TOGETHER!), negotiations on people actually cooperating for positive change, and discussions on how electoral reform might happen, plus of course the incessant genius, sarcasm and insight of twitter - I'll miss it all as it happens and have to wait to find out how people are actually dealing with it (and exactly how much transparently obvious spin David Cameron thinks he can fool us with).

But onto more immediate things - I have a volcano to go and investigate! I've no idea which side of the plane Eyjafjalla will be on my trip up (some have told me right, some have told me left) - but I've got a right hand window seat and will be there like a sad geek with my camera and if nothing else I'll get some cool pictures of clouds. Or the glacier. While I glug coffee and dream of leaving the chaos behind.

[I'm posting this from Terminal 1 on an overpriced internet connection and the right click doesn't work so I am unable to copy picture links into this today. But I'll try my best for next time, promise x]

Tasty Icelandic Tunes: Bloodgroup/Dry Land

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.

www.myspace.com/bloodgroup (Record records)