‘Solvet Saeclum’ hints at greatness, but the band has yet to control their overzealous enthusiasm. ‘Solvet Saeclum’ is crisp and cutting like latter day Death but without the choruses and anthemic attributes. Its virtuosos are exhausting like Obscura, but without the crunch.…

Anything Beneath touches oozes experience and focus. When they have something new out, people get anxious. Will they put everyone else to shame? Will they top their previous outputs? These are all relevant questions befitting a band of Beneath’s stature. ‘Enslaved By…

There’s an indecisive Icelandicness at work here. The production values, line-up of instruments (clarinet, melodica, euphonium) and vocals are all seemingly un-reggae. This simultaneously works for, and against, the band. This said Icelandicness gives Ojba Rasta an intriguing feel of “otherness,” and…

Calm and commendable. Supplementary dynamics, such as a surprise tempo change or bombastic instances of some sort, would have made this Slowcope perfect. It’s all in the name. Six slow, stripped down instrumental songs. The scope is that of great space, distance…

In conversation with myself the other day, I proposed that scene darlings Sudden Weather Change don’t sound excited or fun anymore and that ‘Sculpture’ is the antithesis of the band’s lauded live shows. This was an observation, not to be mistaken for…

When I heard Tilbury was a supergroup of sorts (with members from Skakkamanage, Jeff Who? Moses Hightower, Valdimar and Hjaltalín) rumoured to be flaunting a Belle and Sebastian fixation, I imagined the outcome would be uninspired and pretentious dog shit. Indeed, the…

I do not demand 100% originality or wild surprises at every turn of a new album. Many original albums are intolerable, pretentious dog shit. Some bands’ influences are very easy to detect. Often it is their folly. That’s not the case here.…

Finally the mighty Todmobile have returned. I figured the best way to engage with this new epic was to take it for a long car drive in the countryside. I listened to it twice in a row to confirm my immediate conclusion:…

I’ve made up my mind. ADHD’s latest album rules. This being my virgin foray into their world of sound, I was initially worried when I saw the line-up of musicians. They are all fantastic players, but I figured these skilled cats would…

Tryggvi Hübner is an accomplished guitar player. He’s tactful, tasteful and many other positive adjectives that end in -ful. And he’s skilled as a motherfucker. But here’s the kicker: his ambitious and dynamic record is so harmless and diluted that it goes…

Svartidauði have made unpleasantries their business for some time now. But despite a loyal cult following, they’ve hardly been prolific. In times when a large number of black metal bands are trying to not sound black metal, Svartidauði revels in what once…

Melchior is one of those prototype renaissance artist groups, consisting of multi-instrument-wielding folks performing music as a vehicle for poetry. Or is it the other way around? Sounds like a multitude of current indie/alternative groups that frequent these pages, right? Thing is,…

This is the type of music that experts and self-appointed authorities on what’s cool make fun of or are intimidated by. ‘The Order Of Things’ is equal part a display of: the joyousness of playing with individuals that gel together, yeswecanism (evident…

Here we have a group of young dudes that are good friends. They’re horny, amped and there are no brakes. That’s how you should sound early in your career. Especially if you love spastic punk, noisy hardcore and metal. The result is…