From Iceland — Worm is Green

Published November 16, 2009

One of the interesting things about Arkranes (apart from the road out of it) is the variety of music that is coming from there. Such as Worm is Green with their new album, Glow. Their downtempo electronic sound is reminiscent of Massive Attack and groups such as The Knife and Fever Ray. Whereas other Icelandic electro bands like Bloodgroup and FM Belfast aim to lift the spirit and get you moving, Glow feels more like the flipside of a weekend comedown in an abandoned farm on a snowy January morning. Their opening track “Hopeful,” for example, has an oppressive baseline that is lifted by the lilting vocals of singer Guðridur Ringsted. The rest of the album contains a mix of soft pianos, deep synths, minimal clicky percussion and whispered vocals. However there isn’t a lot of variety in the tracks and the album does feel to be stuck on the same tempo and minor key throughout. That’s not to say that it’s bad but sometimes it wouldn’t hurt to let the sunshine in and expand their sound.