Words by

Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach Gunnarsson

To begin with, the band Two Step Horror—duo Þórður Grímsson and Anna Margrét Björnsson—have just released two new songs on Soundcloud that are well worth your time and attention. Their 2011 debut, ‘Living Room Music,’ was full of slow burning darkwave with twanging guitars, ghostly vocals and a healthy dose of drone and feedback, and this new material doesn’t stray too far from that signature sound.
The first, “Somebody Sleeping,” is a moody instrumental track with atmospheric guitars drifting in and out of the mix. The second is a cover of “Lonesome Town,” originally a hit single performed by Ricky Nelson in 1958. Two Step Horror’s take is like a modern rockabilly anthem with echoing snare drums, surf-y guitar and treated vocals that would be perfect on the soundtrack to a David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch film. They also recently started to perform live so look out for their live shows in the near future.  
Singer songwriter Snorri Helgason has just released a new song aptly titled “Summer is almost gone.” It’s a very retro sounding and cosy folk tune with some sweet acoustic strumming and warm keys. It’ll be a great song to go with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket in the upcoming autumn.
When the autumn arrives you can at least begin to look forward to the annual Iceland Airwaves festival. Although it isn’t exactly around the corner, it’s at least around the block—end of October, beginning of November—and you should buy a ticket for it immediately if you haven’t already, as it was sold out around this time last year.
Of the last batch of artists announced, we are especially psyched about Jon Hopkins, whose beautiful ambient-techno album, ‘Immunity,’ is so far one of the best records of the year in our opinion. Post-punk Savages have also been raising a lot of hell this year and have a reputation for very energetic performances.
Finally, we would like to thank Útidúr, Just Another Snake Cult and everybody who showed up to Straum’s first birthday celebration at Harlem on the August 22. It was a blast of atomic proportions.
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Straum.is has been active since last summer, with writers Óli Dóri and Davíð› Roach documenting the local music scene and helping people discover the best new music. It is associated with the radio show Straumur on X977, which airs every Monday evening at 23:00.