Grapevine New Music: Mukka, Magnús Jóhann & Óskar Guðjónsson, Amor Vincit Omnia & More

It’s a worthy, however futile, attempt to bring an umbrella to Iceland. For dainty Europeans, an umbrella is no more hassle than carrying a pair of sunglasses — and equally utilitarian. In Iceland, the umbrella market never really took off because of the fierce wind gusts trying to knock you over every five seconds. And now we’ve entered the windiest season of them all — spooky season. While it seems like yesterday we bitched about the lack of summer, I for one welcome our new stormy overlords.

Karitas — Special
Released August 23

“Summer never comes when I’m away from you,” opens singer, DJ, and former Daughter of Reykjavík Karítas on her latest track, perfectly encapsulating my relationship with Víking Lite Lime beer. Driven by the artist’s emotional vocal performance, background instrumentation and arrangements seem to be an afterthought. The song’s most prominent feature is Karítas’ voice, which she uses to guide the track forward while also supplementing the verses with auxiliary vocals. Honestly, I could listen to this a capella and still love it. JB

Mukka — Study More Nr. 4
Released August 23

Mukka’s fourth instalment of their “Study” releases continues on familiar ground as their earlier material. Lo-fi and slightly psychedelic, Study More Nr. 4 includes a wide variety of distinct sounds, whether it be hazy mantras (“Sunshine”) or synthy elevator muzak (“Bit by Beta”). Journeying the album, you get the impression that Mukka is damn cool. JB

Amor Vincit Omnia — brb babe

Released August 23

Experimental dance duo Amor Vincit Omnia’s debut EP brb babe is somehow both brat summer and rizz-coded. I don’t know what that means, but Gen Z AMO members could probably discern a faint understanding from that nonsensical sentence. Brb babe possesses infectious beats and forward-looking songwriting while still producing an air of nostalgia. Lovely stuff.  JB

Magnús Jóhann & Óskar Guðjónsson — Greindargerjun

Released August 30

Magnús Jóhann is widely known as Iceland’s foremost pop pianist, performing with artists such as GDRN, Moses Hightower, Bríet, and many, many more. Joined by saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson, “Greindargerjun” is the third single of this jazzy tour-de-force duo’s upcoming album. Pensive and melancholic, “Greindargerjun” evokes feelings of regret and growth. JB

Katla Yamagata — Postulín

Released September 6

Katla Yamagata is contending strongly as Reykjavík’s latest pop starlet, having received mild success with her singles “Hjáleið” and “Brauð og vín”. Both tracks feature the more familiar names Jói Pjé and Bassi Maraj, while the album is mostly produced by the former. In a similar vein to contemporary pop phenomena Mammaðín, Billie Eilish and GDRN, Postulín is a dramatic expression of early adolescent realities, while still taking your brain hostage with its dangerous hooks. JB