Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson – Dense Time

We got this CD months ago, and we never put it on the stereo. It comes in a jewel case, just a piss yellow booklet on it saying the author and title. And then, one day, we put it in, and said, “Shouldn’t we know this?” With 11 songs, the CD glides through a blend of high-brow, precisely played, baroque-influenced pop. Guðlaugur, it turns out, is the man behind Þeyr, K.U.K.L, some Björk songs, etc. All of the great Icelandic music is drawn out of this CD, and, likely, a few more musicians could pull something from these compositions to make a career. That said, the CD prides itself on its many time signatures, and takes itself every bit as seriously as its yellow cover, and the title of its second song, the Bergman classic Seventh Seal. You know you’re listening to something important, and your brain is fully occupied. But this is definitely the equivalent of fine Scandinavian cinema. BC