Two—possibly three—eras mesh in Samaris’s music: lead vocalist Jófríður Ákadóttir melodicizes poetry by Icelandic writers such as Steingrímur Thorsteinsson, Örn Arnarsson, and others who wrote around the turn of the twentieth century, to minimalistic beats presented by laptop-dude Þórður Kári Steinflórsson while…

It’s hard to believe. Yet—Sigur Rós is turning twenty. And age takes its toll: Kjartan Sveinsson, keyboard and all-around player, has left the band, making their new album ‘Kveikur’ their first one recorded as a trio since 1997’s debut ‘Von.’ Press surrounding…

Útidúr were called the ‘Beirut of Iceland’ in their early days, and not without reason. There is more than a bit of Zach Condon in lead vocalist Gunnar Örn’s deep-throated delivery and their debut was full of faintly Balkan-sounding indie-pop. On their…

On their second EP, young trio Samaris further develop their dystopian folk sound. The palette is similar—clarinet, breathy vocals, dark Icelandic folk melodies with folkloric lyrics—all held together with electronic beats, bass and synths. It’s a move away from the dubstep leanings…

Futuregrapher makes jungle. Rapid-fire beats composed from familiar breaks, dreamy pads with major sevenths, vocal samples and the occasional jazzy riffs: It’s all in here. Of course, this is somewhat unusual since the genre has pretty much been dormant since the mid-nineties,…

Músíktilraunir 2012 winners RetRoBot play electronic rock that’s heavily indebted to the eighties, when I presume none of these guys were born. This is prevalent in terms of the drum machines (mostly 909-ish), almost metal-like guitars, new wave-y vocal delivery, and there’s…