Mugison, at first an indie darling, then the whole nation’s, just released his first album in five years. On ‘Enjoy!’ he sings in English again and, in a departure from his last album, is a bit more sonically adventurous. There is gentle strumming, playful brass stabs, and some manipulating of the vocals. Mugison switches effortlessly between ballads, funk hits and cray-cray vocal outbursts without missing a beat. “I’m a little tipsy, I’m a little broken,” he sings with fragility on “Tipzy King,” and you can feel the weakness in his voice. Right after that comes the aptly titled “Hangover” with the ever so classic/cliche line “I’ll never drink again/a single drop of gin.” It’s sort of a return to the roots of his grandiose ‘Mugimama Is This Monkeymusic?’, and we at Straumur welcome the gesture.
Jón Þór, a stalwart of the Icelandic indie rock scene, just released a stellar EP called ‘Frúin í Hamborg’ (“The Lady from Hamburg”) and comprised of four songs of braingluing hooks, thrilling riffs and lyrics that will stick with you for seasons on out. Opener “Stelpur” (“Girls”) is an up-tempo guitar driven-number about being wasted in downtown Reykjavík, searching for some love at the bar. It’s part Supergrass, part Weezer, part Mac DeMarco, and 100% pure Icelandic hookup jam. Jón Þór’s vocals reek of longing for the other sex that sounds desperate, yet not sad.
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