Label: Kimi
Viewing posts
1-3 out of
3
7
Proving that less is often more -- both in production and length -- Benni Hemm Hemm's "Retaliate" EP is a brilliantly hushed gem. Trademark horns diminished to a mere whisper, Benedikt H. Hermannsson (the brains behind the ostensibly solo project) gently guides his listener though an affecting five-song cycle of softly strummed guitars, plunked pianos, and ghostly harmonies.
Despite its pervasive lo-fi ambience, "Retaliate"'s minimalism never translates to boring. From the delicate rise and fall "Church loft" to the title track's slow-build instrumentals, Hermannsson crafts the sort of bedroom-Nick Drake compositions that could easily be lost in a slicker set-up. Left unadorned, his image-heavy prose glistens. No Sufjan Stevens-style narrator (even if his style often bares a passing resemblance), the listener is left to comprise his own story, awash in religious iconography, travels taken, days reborn and blood letting. Hermannsson may have settled into a period of personal quiet contemplation, but it's clear his restless creative spirit never will.
- Laura Studarus
6
FM Belfast's debut full-length "How to make friends" is a breathless up-yours to any expectation of the (near) cliché ethereal Icelandic sound. Concerning themselves, not with glacially moving soundscapes, but with pulsating dance floors, the Reykjavík quartet stomp though eleven tracks with a dedication to disco-fueled outlandish fun that's likely to make Scissor Sisters jealous. In the case of tracks such as "Par avion", "Underwear", and "VHS", their horn and drum machine-backed high-octane determination goes down with a delicious hook and subversive wink.
However, FM Belfast refuses to simply rest on their outsider status -- piling on layer after layer off-kilter synth, pushing askew melodies a bit further off-center. By album mid-point, their more-is-more approach to quirk grows wearing, dragging down what could undoubtedly have been classic nü-disco cuts. Instead of answering our burning questions -- namely, does the world really need another cover of Technotronic's "Pump"? -- tracks "Synthia" and "President" close out the album with shouting, odd layers, and the world's most awkward rap. Probably not the best way to make friends, but I'm willing to give this relationship a second try if you are.
- Laura Studarus
5
"Murta St. Calunga" should have been Benni Hemm Hemm's breakout album. After the song "GítStemm" was featured on the excellent "Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússins" compilation in 2006, they released their sophomore effort "Kajak" to critical acclaim. On "Kajak", you could almost hear singer/songwriter Benedikt Hermannsonn's arrangements maturing, the twinkling list of acoustic guitar and the stutter of his brass canter in increasing symbiosis, interwoven with a distinctly maritime flourish. But while "Murta" upstages the brassy pomp of its predecessors, it struggles to find depth. Too often, as on childish "Whaling in the North Atlantic" and the faux-western "Riotmand", Benni falls short of recreating the sparkling intimacies of "Kajak". Thus, the ineffective melodies and sparse acoustics must be salvaged by the atypical rhythms of their instrumental breaks. The jaunty brass, with its shifting time signatures, continues to be BHH's most potent weapon. Though it elevates the repetitive horns above those that proliferate in today's colorless indie, they are little more than a palliative here, providing temporary respite from "Murta"'s predictable doldrums. The soft, textured horn laments that worked so well on "Kajak" wander aimlessly in the album's sluggish middle, where copycat brass mimics endless iterations of what seems to be one single dim melody.
It's not all bad, though. The Van Morrison rifflets and the faux-metal hammer-ons of "Veiðiljóð" are welcome additions, as is the warmth of "Riotmand", where glockenspiels flutter beautifully above static horns. The formulaic vocals lack the depth or vision of those on "Kajak", but Benni's voice still transmits a blissful Nordic solitude. If I had not been primed me to expect great things from Benni Hemm Hemm, perhaps I would not be so quick to dismiss this album. I'm hopeful that their next will be a return to form, as I'm hesitant to believe that BHH's best music is behind them.
- Nathan Keegan
Benni Hemm Hemm
FM Belfast
Benni Hemm Hemm
