From Iceland — Jóhann Jóhannsson

It’s all very nice and atmospheric, but what’s the point? An unfair question, to be sure, but somehow one has come to expect more, and somehow Fordlandia feels all too much like undeveloped, if very enticing, musical ideas – like an album waiting to be sampled by someone doing something a bit more expressive, or string arrangements for Madonna or Nick Cave songs. Even the mighty and bombastic The Great God Pan Is Dead and Melodia (Guidelines For A Propulsion Device…), the most pointed tracks on the album, are little more than an interesting premise and theme music for an action movie, respectively. The contrast of lush, beautiful instrumentation with the sparse, slow arrangements seem more directed at producing sound rather than music, and barely warrant a second listen.