From Iceland — Who Knew: Bits And Pieces Of A Major Spectacle

Published May 28, 2010

Ever since Jakobínarína disappeared, Iceland has been crying out for a rousing INDIE ROCK band to rally behind. OK it hasn’t, but it certainly looks like Who Knew are applying for the job with their debut album.
The first thing you notice when you listen to the thing is how similar the songs sound and feel. This is probably due to more than half the songs being in the same key of A (or as professional musos call it, “the drunken anthem key”). Their sound too is a sort of hideous Manbearpig chimera of all the main indie sounds going at the moment. The head of Wolf Parade, the lungs of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, the left bollock of Black Kids, etc.
This should all sound horrible and derivative. But the album is propelled along by the sheer force of its own self-confidence and positivity, as well as some sterling work on the bass and drums. So no prizes for original outstanding work, but definitely a winner for the hop along indie anthems this year.