Icelandic artist Sóley of Seabear/Sin Fang is going solo and will be releasing her debut solo full-length "We sink" on September 2 via . Download the lead single "I'll drown" and get more info here: http://www.morrmusic.com/artist/S%C3%B3ley/fdl/ndw7s31
Icelandic act FM Belfast have signed to for the release of their new album "Don't want to sleep", due out in June. The first single "Underwear" is already available digitally and will be released as a 7" on March 25.
Pascal PinonIt's an exciting thing to witness a band's inception. While Pascal Pinon's self-titled debut album is far from perfect, it crackles with a rare, unfiltered emotional honesty -- the heart of their sweet, simple songs rising above lo-fi recordings and elementary musical knowledge.
Not unlike reading a teenage girl's diary (which this might be, given that founding twin sisters Jófríður and Ásthildur and their friends Halla and Kristin were only 14 at the time of the recording), the album drips with simple, deeply felt emotion, with lyrics delivered in both English and Icelandic. "You should listen to it, and the words that I say, it's all terrible shit, and least I know that today," the girls sing in unison in "I wrote a song". While the line hints at the promise of future cynicism to come, for now, the girls seem at peace with guitar strums, shaking bells, and recorder choirs. Pascal Pinon may have better music in their future as both technical proficiency and life experiences grow, but never again will they make anything this beautifully honest and real.
- Laura Studarus
Iceland Music Export reports that has signed lo-fi/folk twin sister duo Pascal Pinon: http://www.icelandmusic.is/News/1553/Morr-Music-Signs-Pascal-Pinon-/default.aspx
Look for their self-titled debut to be released on December 3 with a 7" single preceding it on October 15.
is giving away the new Seabear single "Lion face boy" as a free download: http://www.morrmusic.com/artist/Seabear/fdl/h47r8i2
The band's new album "We built a fire" comes out in March.
Icelandic act Seabear will release their sophomore album "We built a fire" in March via and the band will also be making their US live debut around the same time with various appearances at SXSW. Also keep an eye out for the new 6-song EP "While the fire dies" as well as 7" single for "Lion face boy" (b/w "Cold summer"). Preview here: http://www.anost.net/en/Artists/Seabear-Shop/Seabear-Lion-Face-Boy-Cold-Summer.html
BorkoThe album cover and track titles would lead you to believe that "Celebrating life" is a lighthearted affair, but the actual material present on the record is much less jocular than one might expect. Borko are very much an Icelandic affair, sharing some aesthetic traits with Múm and, at times, Sigur Rós – especially on "Shoo ba ba" which oddly parallels features of the "Music for split sides" EP Sigur Rós released in 2004, sometimes referred to by its track names: "Ba ba / Ti ki / Di do". This said, Borko are less sprawling than Sigur Rós and, at times, more organically composed than Múm. These similarities and disparities, paired with the overly-apparent blitheness, allow Borko quite a bit of freedom. "Summer logic", one of the more demure tracks on "Celebrating life", flows into the playful, shifting "Doo doo doo" with little difficulties. "Spoonstabber" feels much more akin to an experimental Seabear composition than any of other the aforementioned Icelandic groups, yet not divorced from the rest of the material. As quirky as serious music can be, "Celebrating life" feels lost somewhere between an indirect, ambient Broken Social Scene and a more instrumentally-anchored Múm, and definitely worth a listen. m
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Bobby & BlummBobby Baby aka Ella Blixt has been on many folk's indiepop-radar for a few years now. Recently, she's put her solo-efforts on hold and joined forces with German multi-talent F.S.Blumm on their project Bobby & Blumm. From the start, this seemed to be an exciting match: Blumm is a classically-trained guitarist who has released a number of mostly instrumental records full of analogue warmth and experimental playfulness. Their debut together, which appears on Berlin's Morr Music label, manages to combine the best of both worlds. Juxtaposed by Blumm's virtuosic yet never intrusive or flashy guitar melodies, Bobby Baby's voice sounds more gripping than ever in these minimal arrangements. At the same time, the songwriting seems more focused than in some of her solo-work, while what remains of her trademark synths greatly adds to the album's otherwise refreshingly analogue sound. Despite all the obvious skills that went into making this record -- all the hisses, rustles and cracks that were carefully put into place -- it still emits a certain calm introspectiveness that makes you want to listen to it again and again.
- Arnulf Köhncke
Various ArtistsThis charming compilation collects all 17 releases of Morr Music's singles-only sublabel A Number of Small Things. Quite surprisingly, the 36 tracks preserve an almost album-like feel despite their seven-inch-ancestry: True to the label's namesake (a song off Múm's debut album) the generally excellent contributions oscillate between finely-crafted indie-pop, IDM, and electronica. Between other big names (like Markus Acher of The Notwist, Valerie Trebeljahr of Lali Puna or Simon Scott of Slowdive), Scandinavian highlights include Seabear covering The Undertones' "Teenage kicks" and, most of all, Benni Hemm Hemm's stripped-down collaboration with Jens Lekman on "Aldrei". All in all, this CD or any of the corresponding seven-inches could make for a great musical present this year - trust me, I've tried it before.
- Arnulf Köhncke
SeabearI've begun to lose all faith in people who proclaim that there's nothing happening musically these days. So far this year, I've completely fallen in love with CS Nielsen, Aerial, Immanu El, the new Shout Out Louds, amongst numerous other releases - and this is limiting myself to Scandinavian bands. Seabear are now firmly in the running for the best effort of 2007 with their wonderful "The ghost that carried us away". Just as many were wondering if Sigur Rós would be the defining watermark of Icelandic music for the foreseeable future, especially given the lukewarm reception to Benni Hemm Hemm's most recent work, Seabear powerfully demonstrate that there is life outside of Sigur Rós and Björk, and that Icelanders have just as much control over warm, acoustic numbers just as powerfully as arctic, sweeping efforts. "I sing I swim" is by far the best number on the record, and amongst the best songs I've heard this year. "Lost watch" displays that Seabear's talents aren't merely limited to the warm and present, but also to detached and ambling explorations. Overall, "The ghost that carried us away" is more than ample evidence that the contemporary music scene is far from stagnant or inadequate, and that Icelanders don't need to play electric guitars with bows or have a voice as powerful as an avalanche to create exceptional pieces of music. It's an exceptional album, and worth parting yourself from a few dollars to own.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
While a competently written album, and one that is well executed by the musicians, "Kajak" seems to drift by rather effortlessly without always catching one's attention. There are some stunningly beautiful moments, "Regngalsinn" and "Sex eða sjö" being two of the album's highest points, but Benni Hemm Hemm's lullaby-like delivery, soothing and gorgeous as it often is (see: "Stoffer"), seems to dull the immediacy of their approach and cast a near-juvenile shadow over their compositions. Much of "Kajak" feels as though it could be the soundtrack to a man walking down a deserted road during the Depression, a nostalgic element present that retains many of the dated melodic themes from those earlier eras of American folk music. There is the power within Benni Hemm Hemm's music to evoke a visual response, and as I sit on my mother's porch in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains watching the breeze reflected in the gentle movement of the trees, "Kajak" is an appropriate companion. Though, while the music is suitable for lazy Sundays and afternoons spent in the country, it certainly doesn't resonate quite so strongly when engaging in life rather than merely watching is pass by.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
