A lot of great music sneaked out over the Christmas period, whilst your eye was off the ball, and on the egg nog. If anyone actually drinks that stuff. We don’t really know. We mostly see it in movies.
Hermigervill – II
Well, whaddya know. You wait four years for the second Hermigervill record—with several teasing glimpses via wonderful, bouncy singles like ‘Solitaire’—and he pulls a Beyoncé (or a Björk) and snap-releases it right before Christmas. Is it everything we hoped for? Yes, basically. It’s a smart, playful, immaculately produced good-vibes mini-opus. Check it out on Spotify. JR
Sillus – dapply
Maybe Hermigervill’s release strategy was influenced by his little sister sillus, who did the very same thing a day earlier and dropped a shiny new EP with no fanfare whatsoever. ‘Dapply’ is a textured and interesting four track EP, with a simmering title track reminiscent of James Blake. Promising in the extreme. JR
HATARI – SPILLINGARDANS
High concept, synth-led ranters HATARI continue to develop—visually, if not sonically—with this pumping new track, dropped alongside the announcement of their disbandment at the end of 2018. We don’t believe a word of it—these haters are clearly having fun amping up their perve-pop visuals, and seem very much here to stay. JR
PSYCHOPLASMICS – 107 RVK
Prismatic yet weirdly comfortable beats made for dancing at 4:30 AM—what else could you expect from the collaboration of Lord Pu$$whip and Alfreð Drexler? A sequel to their 2014 hit ‘101 Reykjavík,’ ‘107 Reykjavík’ is the kindest thing they could play when you accidentally take acid on a night out in Berlin. HJC
Teitur Magnússon – Kollgátan
Teitur Magnússon’s 2018 album ‘Orna’ is a wonderful collection of skewed indie-pop, with a nostalgic, feel good, halcyon haze permeating the whole thing. The video for “Kollgátan” takes this up a level with a video of old summer holiday film footage of river crossings, ski-jumps, and what looks like a giraffe… in Iceland? Or maybe the family went abroad. Anyway, this is a great track. JR
ZAKAZ – Kvalir
According to ZAKAZ, the black metal band’s newest album, ‘Kvalir,’ is about emotional and physical coldness. With three songs that span over 40 minutes, their effort serves up an enveloping world of cinematic and yet understanded melancholia. Think dungeon synth that forgos saccharinity. Good mood music for walking alone in the moonlight. HJC
Vök – Spend The Love
Making increasingly glossy mainstream pop music with a futuristic production flair, Vök continue to make all the right moves. They look right, they sound right, and their ever increasing army of fans seems to suggest they feel right, too. 2018 could be theirs. JR
Kaleikr – The Descent
From the ashes of Draugsól rises a new star on the psychedelic black metal sky – Kaleikr. Their first single sounds like the perfect soundtrack to Dante’s “Inferno” with its psychedelic whirlpool made of multiple layers of guitar harmonies, intense drums and brutal growls. This album is going to be big, mark my words. PW
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