Words by

Gabríel Benjamin

@gabrielandmore

This song is to Icelandic Christmas songs what Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” is to Bob Dylan’s late ‘60s sound—a spoof so close to what it is mocking that the everyday listener stands little chance of getting the joke. It’s a Christmas song that’s all about how boring Christmas songs are, replete with jingling bells and pop synths. You will hear this song playing softly in the background in Kringlan and Smáralind as you do your Christmas shopping. You will hear kids singing along to the catchy chorus as they hang up holiday decoration. You will hear it played at family events and on all of the radio stations. Decades from now, it will be a classic, as inseparable from the Icelandic holiday season as Jeff Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah” is from riverside funerals. And you will enjoy it, because thankfully “Jólalag” is a delight, and will serve to further cement Vaginaboys—our coverstars—as one of the most exciting new acts to emerge in Iceland for a long time.

Also: you fans of Icelandic fiction might be interested to learn that the lyrics to “Jólalag” were penned by none other than fabled author Stefán Máni.

—

See Also:

Vaginaboys: A Rush Of Blood To Your Genitals
It was just spring that Vaginaboys burst onto the scene from out of nowhere. All of the sudden, their breakout hit “Elskan af því bara” (“Baby Just Because”) started spreading across Icelandic social media circles at an alarming rate. No one had a clue who they were, but everyone fell in love all the same, their unique brand of ice-cold, sexy 808 auto-tuned R’n’B resonating in hip-hop and indie circles alike.

Album Review: ‘Icelandick’ By VaginaboysSo, there’s an anonymous, experimental electro-R&B group called Vaginaboys, and they have an EP out entitled ‘Icelandick’. I feel like, you know, what more information could you possibly need on the subject, but as Vaginaboys are clearly setting out to perfect some kind of post-modern pop formula by releasing an actually quite listenable collection of woozy, psychedelic, crystalline synth-driven torch songs on a record with not one, but two references to genitalia in the title, I might as well dissect them the best that I can.