From Iceland — Broads and Balloons

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GAS

The band Mammút have been in somewhat of a coma since they won the Icelandic version of ‘Battle of the Bands’ and released their debut, which received mixed feedback four years ago. Vigilant radio-listeners noticed though a few months back that their regretful coma had finally reached an end with the immensely energetic hit “Svefnsýkt” which made even the best bred suits rock their heads, slightly, to the catchy melody.
After the promising single, perching at the top of every single radio chart for weeks, the full length, baring the clunky name “Karkari”, had to be sweeping to fulfil the crowd’s great expectations. And upon release the matriarchal band threw a glamorous release concert in the old and noble hall at Iðnó. I must note that actually going to the concert wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for we hit a few obstacles on the way. To begin with Mammút’s promoter and publisher found it completely unreasonable that Grapevine actually had to send both a reporter and a photographer to the concert and was astonished that Grapevine’s infrastructure was so uneconomical. Finally we got our two tickets and after such a challenging quarrel the wisest thing you can do is of course having a beer. But when we sat down at the bar we hit another bump: the concert was apparently “All-Ages” which of course prevented the sale of everything with the slightest amount of alcohol in it. So a bottle of Coke would have to do.
When we entered the concert hall it was hard to miss the flamboyant decorations but at the end of the dark room the lit stage was full of multi-coloured balloons and other equivalent garnishes that definitely set the mood for the coming show. Soon, Mammút appeared upon the stage and although their set didn’t last long it was both powerful and passionate. The flatness surrounding their previous release had disappeared completely and although their successful single “Svefnsýkt” is both catchy and amusing, it’s merely one amongst many carefully created tunes that they presented vibrantly and their front and lead songbird Kata proved undeniably that she is a rising star.