CD of the week
AMIINA Kurr Ever Records ****
Does Iceland boast any cheesy chart-toppers or MOR rock? You wouldn't think so based on the bulk of its homegrown music, a geographically eclectic vein that charms the outside world. Whether it's the irreverent experimentalism of Björk or the fey rhythms of múm, each act often captures something of the landscape from which it came.
No band manages this better than Amiina, whose musical currency started with stunning string arrangements for the last two Sigur Rós albums and touring support slots with the band. Stepping out of the shadow of Jonsi & Co, the all-female quartet of María (violin), Hildur (violin), Edda (viola) and Sólrún (cello) finally releases a debut of remarkable music that transports and beguiles. In composition terms, there's a studied melancholy that has more in common with fellow Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson than Sigur Rós.
Odd then, that so many of the arrangements sound so meandering and ambient, when they're obviously meticulously scored.
Kurr - which translates as "cooing" - is also an album entirely devoid of angles, preferring to keep a linear structure of soft focus, of nursery chimes and bell-ringing reverie. It's as if its classical head is ruled by its experimental, emotional heart. These aural vistas, created using everything from harmoniums, singing wine glasses, kalimbas and harpsichords, have a nocturnal backdrop - sleepy, soothing and over before you know it. Vocals are hazy and sporadic, as on Hilli, Kolapot and Rugla, where they seep into the instrumentation, but mostly they're left out altogether.
Despite the presence of umpteen musical instruments (which the group have a habit of swapping around) simplicity takes over, as on the lullaby-like Kolapot and the sombre brass of Bláfeldur. Kurr is like a film-less soundtrack, a hinterland score for quiet moments. It could be marketed as a cure for insomnia. If it sends you off to sleep, it's in a very good way. www.amiina.com
SINÉAD GLEESON
Download tracks: Rugla, Sexfaldur, Kolapot
