Published September 13, 2011
I recently wrote a live review of Ofvitarnir, where I used words such as ‘plebeian,’ ‘rough’ and ‘filthy.’ This gave the impression that they were ordinary and one-dimensional. But after listening to their debut album several times, it’s safe to say that this reviewer’s ability to judge on first impression really ain’t worth shit.
Of course ‘Stephen Hawking/Steven Tyler’ is an uneven, craggy sounding album, with the production squeezing the vocals almost out of existence. But amongst the debris of guitar fuzz and crashing drums, there are songs stuffed with melodies and hooks that switched open my memory boxes marked ‘Early ’90s indie rock that I love a lot.’
And underneath the quirky song titles, there’s a real sadness borne out of frustration and cynicism going on, with songs like ‘Jurassic Park,’ about a man’s faded hopes and dreams. It’s a very angry mood that you really don’t hear enough of from new Icelandic bands these days.
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