Benni Hemm Hemm
Murta St. Calunga
Kimi
"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
