Ólafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter

For Now I Am Winter is a bold step forward for Ólafur, adding an impressive amount of variety into an otherwise well-established formula.

Over the course of the past 5 years, Ólafur Arnalds has established himself as one of the most promising musicians in the Icelandic music scene. His sorrowful neoclassical pieces evoked the stark minimalism of Sigur Rós, combined with the simple ambience explored by Brian Eno. Through these influences and others, Arnalds was able to create a simple, short-form take on modern classical music that had enough crossover appeal to be enjoyed by fans of post-rock, ambient, and even pop music genres.

For Now I Am Winter is Ólafur Arnald’s latest effort and major label debut. First track “Sudden Throw” gets things underway with a typical Ólafur sound, much like that heard on 2010’s successful ...And They Escaped the Weight of Darkness. However, this doesn’t last long before bouncy violins and a glitchy electronic beat join the fray in “Brim,” a song that sounds very different to anything else previously attempted by the Icelander. The song undergoes multiple mood and atmosphere changes, eventually settling down into the slow and mournful sound we’ve come to know and love from the man. But perhaps the most radical departure comes in the form of vocal embellishments from singer Arnor Dan in the title track. His tender voice is used sparingly, appearing in only four of the album’s twelve tracks, and it certainly isn’t the kind of jarring voice that detracts from the music. Nevertheless, it will certainly be one of the release’s biggest talking points and could be a potential turn-off for some fans.

Other highlights include “Reclaim,” which combines the newfound electronic influences with the addition of vocals, and the gorgeous post-rock inspired build-up in “Only the Winds.” The strongest vocal performance from Dan can be heard in what is perhaps the record’s most surprising song, “Old Skin.” His voice is stronger and more confident here, providing a much-needed lift from the more traditional-sounding mid-section of the album. Electronic instrumentation again comes to the fore and percussive beats provide the backbone for “This Place Was a Shelter,” before being rounded-off by the charming ambience of “Carry Me Anew.”    

For Now I Am Winter is a bold step forward for Ólafur, adding an impressive amount of variety into an otherwise well-established formula. The only question will be whether he manages to take this exciting momentum on to much greater heights in future. 

Rating: 8/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/55351/Olafur-Arnalds-For-Now-I-am-Winter/)

Harold Budd and Brian Eno - Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror

An album cover seldom sets the scene as well as this one does; this is the musical backdrop to pure pastoral ecstasy.  

You find yourself immersed in a rural terrain, the vast landscape stretching as far as your eyes can see. Looking around, you realise that the daybreak is upon you. You stand up and hear the faint tinkling of a piano as the sun rises over the hilltops. The first light reaches you and you embrace the warmth, keeping yourself safe from the cool morning breeze. You watch as the world grows brighter, characterised by the background humming of a synthesiser as the piano becomes more prominent. The sun is in full view; the breeze stops and life begins to emerge from its shell.

The sound of running water is heard as you walk through the trees and you find yourself at the edge of a lake. The water reflects a radiant glare, shining toward the skies like a mirror to the sun. Water-filtered ambience fills the air. You are unable to face the glow and turn away, but can hear the sounds of birds arriving to take their morning drink. You walk away back into the shade of the trees. Eventually you come to a clear, open area filled with nothing but soft grass. You sweep the ground with your hand and feel the spongy earth beneath you. Looking up, you see that the sky is a brilliant shade of blue, empty but for an arc of doves that is silhouetted on the horizon. The sun now sits at its peak, the heat emanating an enveloping warm tone and the birds singing a resonant chiming that drifts towards you through the heavens.

You close your eyes and consider the memory you are creating, not yet remembered. By the time you open them again, the sky is growing darker and your day is coming to an end. You head back through the trees, the chill air following you as clouds begin to appear overhead. The clearing on the other side reveals a path alongside a few open fields. The clouds are now dark and the sun is almost completely hidden from view. A light rain begins to fall and the water settles on the grass of the meadows beside you, from a distance looking like tiny crystals shining in the last rays of sunlight making their way through the clouds.

The path finally leads to a fence. A series of bells hang on the wires, ringing in the afternoon breeze. The clouds have now blown over, revealing a brilliant red and orange skyline. The wind is growing in intensity and the trees are swaying from side to side. You climb through the fence, cautious not to get hooked on any sharp knots of wire and walk over the hill on the other side. As your eyes grow accustomed to the dimness of the grey evening, you realise that you are back where you started, the open land stretching for miles in every direction. You see the trees you first went through that morning and become aware of the fact that you have gone full circle. But as the last light begins to fade away and the stars begin to show, you decide you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You sit down and listen to the piano play the final notes of your day as you close your eyes and drift off into a state of peaceful bliss.             

Rating: 7/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/46083/Harold-Budd-and-Brian-Eno-Ambient-2---The-Plateaux-of-Mirror/ )

Japandroids - Celebration Rock

An album that has nonstop energy and a seemingly endless supply of party hats.

You’re drunk at the bar, alone, slowly passing out. You’ve suddenly grown an extra pair of hands and you have two empty beer bottles instead of one. The people on the dance floor seem to have doubled and the strobe lights are nauseating. All you want to do is put your head down and go to sleep right where you are...

Japandroids are the proverbial friend that slaps you across the face and buys you another drink. They are that person of excess, the one who drinks too much, smokes too much, and sleeps with his best friend’s girlfriend. Japandroids know how to party... and they party a lot. And that’s ultimately what Celebration Rock is – an album that has nonstop energy and a seemingly endless supply of party hats. “The Nights of Wine and Roses” begins proceedings promisingly and the lyrics immediately reflect the duo’s attitude to life: “Long lit up tonight and still drinking / Don’t we have anything to live for? / Well of course we do / But till they come true / We’re drinking.”

“Fire’s Highway” is the first real highlight, with one of the catchiest choruses on the album and those outrageous “oh-oh-oh’s” that simply demand that your fist be raised high in the air. But like that friend that everyone has, “Evil’s Sway” comes along and you realise that the party isn’t going to stop anytime soon. If there’s one criticism that has plagued Japandroids it is this; every song follows the same pattern and has just as much fun as the song before it. First single “Younger Us” would appear on most records as the upbeat opener (provided any other record could actually replicate the sheer liveliness shown here) but here it sits just before penultimate track “The House That Heaven Built”, which also happens to be the best song on the album. For the first time on Celebration Rock you get the impression that maybe there’s just a hint of sadness behind all the revelry. Not that the formula really changes much but for once the lyrics don’t seem quite as straightforward as they did before. “It’s a lifeless life / With no fixed address to give / But you’re not mine to die for anymore / So I must live.”

Closing track “Continuous Thunder” slows things down just enough for you to catch your breath at the end of an exhausting ride. The album is thankfully short and doesn’t overstay its welcome which works in its favour; any longer and it would lose a lot of its effectiveness. Even so, you may find that the repetitive nature of the songs gets tiring before then end. But then again, if you’re the friend buying more drinks this is the soundtrack to the perfect night.  

Rating: 7/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/55048/Japandroids-Celebration-Rock/)

Wear Your Wounds/Revelator - Split

“What’s done is done. The mistakes you’ve made stand forever.”

For anyone interested in hearing just what Jacob Bannon sounds like when he’s not screaming his lungs out for legendary hardcore band Converge, this is essential listening. “Adrift in You” is Bannon’s second solo release (after 2008’s “The Blood of Thine Enemies”) and his first under the Wear Your Wounds moniker. Whereas “The Blood of Thine Enemies” was a slow, ambient/drone dirge, “Adrift in You” sounds altogether more uplifting and hopeful. There are none of Bannon’s trademark panther-vocals here as the track brings to mind post-punk legends The Cure and Killing Joke as well as the dreamlike atmosphere of My Bloody Valentine. There’s even the noisy Swans-like drums that leave Bannon’s vocals buried deep in the mix, a technique that suits the song perfectly. If “Adrift in You” is anything to go by the full-length should be worth the wait.

Ben Chisholm (of Chelsea Wolfe fame) makes up the other side of this split under the name Revelator. “Net of Gems” complements the Wear Your Wounds track perfectly as its bleaker, more sombre counterpart. There are strong ambient influences here and the song exudes a spacey atmosphere that is easy to get lost in. The drums are subtle but effective (think of the second-half of Sigur Rós’ Untitled Album) and suit the atmosphere created by the piano and electronics brilliantly. Although “Net of Gems” is built around its impressive use of minimalism and restraint, the song never feels like it’s dragging or moving along aimlessly. In fact, it builds up to a disorienting climax that doesn’t compromise any of the ethereal ambience that has gone before it.    

In conclusion, this is a highly impressive release that shows a lot of potential for both artists. Although the split is very short and it sounds as though the songs would work much better in an album context, this is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the musicians involved or any kind of experimental rock in general.

Rating: 8/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/54824/Wear-Your-Wounds-Revelator-Split/)