Live Review: Bossanova Vincit Omnia

IDM duo Amor Vincit Omnia veered strangely acoustic during their release show

Outside, snowflakes engulf woollen clothes. “Inside,” chanteuse Salóme Katrín explains, “is warm,” as she belts her final song of the night, “Inside”.

Salóme Katrín is warming up for the electronica-cum-folk duo Amor Vincit Omnia, celebrating the release of their EP Extended babe on a Saturday night in Mengi.

Salóme Katrín is a perennial artist in the Reykjavík music scene. Joined onstage by her beloved, trumpeter Tumi Torfason, I imagine dinner parties at their house might be a tad more exciting than elsewhere. They play a handful of Salóme’s Aldous Harding-esque piano pop compositions, coloured with shrill and emotive vocal performances.

Finishing too soon, Salóme’s performance reminds me of the sad reality that her fans have regrettably few releases to pine over — although she conjures some hope when she explains she needs to have an early night for a studio session at first light.

There’s a break in the schedule and soon Amor Vincit Omnia members Baldur Skúlason and Erla Hlín Guðmundsdóttir set up the stage to a great cheer.

Immediately it dawns on me that this performance will not live up to my expectations. I didn’t pay it any mind, but I realised the venue was all-sitting. Instead of the raucous Gen-Z IDM I had hoped for, Amor Vincit Omnia had something else in mind.

Shattered expectations

Baldur and Erla are timid, almost apologetic, when they introduce their first number of the night. It’s best to get the hard part over with, Erla explains, as their first song was written on the Wednesday before the show, titled “Vínarborg”. This was not a BKPM cover, but an original composition chronicling a bohemian lover’s trip to the capital of culture.

It’s a strange bossanova pastiche centred on a two-chord movement, and very off-kilter from my preconceived notions about the band.

“We’re pop artists,” Erla continues. “We find it difficult to write about anything else than love.”

Continuing with the theme of derailment, the duo invite one of the off-stage string players to join them for a rendition of an obscure Spilverk Þjóðanna song. So far this is looking like a folk revival. I turn to my company in disbelief, muttering under my breath, “What the hell is going on?”

As in the beginning

Finally, the group has defeated its initial jitters, and they dive headfirst into material from Extended babe by introducing the aforementioned string trio. Pairing classical with electronica-heavy material at such a DIY concert is a bold decision, but it paid off as it added interesting textures to otherwise familiar concepts. The quintet began with the glitchy slow-dance “Adagio”, then into the tactile “Drain Me”.

At mid-point, the group locked into their tracks for the Jockstrap-reminiscent “The Bliss” — undoubtedly the album’s highlight and a showstopper in its own right. Here, the band was fully in sync with each other, holding nothing back.

Ending their set on “Ber” — which currently holds simultaneously the funniest and the most outrageous piece of lyrics as of this year, “You can park your car in my garage.” — Amor Vincit Omnia invited a bassist onstage, completing their puzzle. The final performance could have benefited from greater foresight, where Baldur played the guitar in unison with the existing playback. Something more exciting could have been executed, but it luckily didn’t take anything away from the performance.

Having completed performing their EP in record time before Mengi’s notorious curfew, the audience were restless. Wanting more, Baldur and Erla shuffled on and off stage a few times before addressing the elephant in the room. “We haven’t rehearsed any songs for the encore,” Erla admitted, passing the decision to the crowd which shouted, “Play ‘Vínarborg’”.

As they began their show, Amor Vincit Omnia — a band whose releases are exclusively written in Ableton —  ended on a folky bossanova number. It’s early days yet, and Amor Vincit Omnia might still be polishing their live set.

Amor Vincit Omnia’s latest EP Extended babe is out now via streaming services. They will be performing at The Line Of Best Fit’s official SXSW party in Austin, Texas, on March 16.