Grapevine Playlist: Comfort Creature, TSS, Hildur, Máni Orrason, Matthildur & More

Like eight simultaneous lightning bolts striking your laptop out of thin air, there are the latest offerings to flash out of the smoky fumarole of the Icelandic music scene.

Comfort Creature – Pyramid Room Exit
Iceland-born, Australia-based Auður Zoëga—who lists her hometown as “Melbourne/Kópavogur”—is Comfort Creature. Her “Pyramid Room Exit” is a compelling track that takes several unexpected sonic swerves, including digital distortion, blunt synth sounds, harp, piano, and bewitching looped vocals. Highly promising. JR

High Tide Low Tide by TSS

TSS – High Tide Low Tide
Released as a ltd. 10” vinyl for Record Store Day, TSS’s ‘High Tide Low Tide’ single-handedly made us care about that event once more. The eight-track EP is made of the same dreamy, summery, lo-fi psychedelia that won his debut LP ‘Moods’ a Grapevine Music Award last January. Find it at tssforu.bandcamp.com. JR

Hildur Guðnadóttir – Chernobyl
Renowned cellist, composer and experimenter Hildur Guðnadóttir has more than earned her recent rise to prominence. Her solo music is often dark and dense; her soundtracks, perhaps necessarily, contain more stark contrasts and bombast. Hear her latest screen work on HBO’s new ‘Chernobyl’ docudrama. JR

Mörur by Andy Svarthol

Andy Svarthol – Mörur
Brothers Egill and Bjarki Hreinn Viðarsson have created an intriguing debut album that’s a dizzying fusion of genres, from synth-pop, to noir indie, to retro b-movie scores. The sounds are imaginatively effects-laden and layered, often with a welcome element of surprise. Get it at andysvarthol.bandcamp.com. JR

Pale Moon – Dust of Days
The latest EP from Pale Moon, a husband and wife duo based in Reykjavík, is a perfect vignette of sounds for the after work wind down. The retro 70’s vibe of ‘Waiting for the Sun’ is sure to get you excited for the long summer days ahead. AU

Máni Orrason – I Swear It’s True
Berlin-based Máni makes decade (and genre) skipping pop songs with the lightest dusting of the Tame Impala-influenced psych-pop production zeitgeist; but he would seem just as natural found opening for Space during Britpop, or on the Karate Kid soundtrack. JR

Hildur – 1993
This Nordic electro-pop tune is a millennial’s dream. The video features stills of NYC subway rides, and plenty of street fashion. But the lyrics also resonate with millennials who constantly chase perfection. “Will I ever be like normal people, will I ever work from nine to five,” Hildur sings. Will we? AU

Matthildur – There
The first five seconds of this song are enough for you to want to get your groove on. While the style of singing and vocals resembles Ariana Grande’s vibe, I don’t care. To me it’s more of an homage to the ‘90s RnB that masterfully weaves electro sounds to the melody. Definitely worth a listen. AU

Read more about Icelandic music here.