Published February 27, 2013
Jónas knows how to open albums in a kick-ass manner and “Hafsins Hetjur” (“Heroes of the Sea”) is no exception. The co-credited “Horn Blowers of Þorlákshöfn” sound like a ‘70s funk band on lýsi (“cod liver oil”). They bump and grind their way through this ode to drowning sailors. 2012 was the year that sailors came back into vogue, with Baltasar Kormákur’s film ‘The Deep’ and a documentary called ‘The Swim,’ about heroic swimmers. Perhaps we are turning to our most traditional roles after the economic crash. In any case, Jónas followed his last greatest album, ‘Allt Er Eitthvað.’ with this one about the sea, the second track, “Hafið Er Svart,” (“The Sea is Black”), a hauntingly beautiful song about sailors drowning.
Heading out to sea is indeed a recurring motif, as in fact it was in the first Icelandic rock songs of the Beatles era. On the fifth track, he seems to attempt to write a traditional sailor song, even utilising a choir of senior citizens.
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