It’s supposed to be a compliment when someone say’s “They broke the mold with that one.” It implies that no one else will ever be quite like it. But the truth is, most of the time, we’d rather hang on to the mold and keep making more things like the first one. Death metal (and near-identical twin, blackened death) is one of those things. A good death metal band can not be distinguished from other good death metal bands using words. They are all born from the same mold. But the ear can hear differences within the formula that make some stand above the others. Here a few albums in the death metal mold that I like.
I subscribe to a bunch of music blogs, and systematically listen to their recommendations throughout the day while I work. This practice introduces me to so much new music I like that sometimes I feel like I never get to listen to stuff I like more than once. But sometimes I find new music in other, more serendipitous ways. Here are some of the discoveries that the universe just delivered to me.
At times this blog has mostly been about Iceland, but external pressures and new obsessions have led my attention astray lately. I even missed the Reykjavik Calling concert this year when it landed on the same day as my opera tickets. While I blinked, my favorite frozen rock in the North Atlantic didn’t stop putting out great music. Here is some newer music I like from Iceland.
Sólveig Matthildur
I always felt a little guilty that I couldn’t get into Kælan Mikla. But when I heard Constantly in Love, the second solo album by Kælan Mikla keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur, I was instantly pulled in to the dark electronic atmosphere.
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Misþyrming
I’ve always been more of a death metal girl, and I cam to the black metal party very late, via Iceland. The first black metal bands I ever liked were Svartidaudi and the band that came to be known as Zhrine. Since then, Icelandic black metal has continued to be my favorite flavor. Misþyrming is one of the best of the bunch, in my opinion and I think in everyone else’s.
On first listen, Algleymi didn’t grab me by the throat the way earlier releases did. I was initially put off by the fuzzier production – more kvlt, but I like cleaner recordings, even when the music is distorted. Then the vocals on third track evoked old Ministry and I got over it. Then the guitars went all Ennio Morricone on track four, and after that resistance was futile.
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Kronos Quartet & múm
I’ve been into múm for a very long time, but I’ve never paid Kronos Quartet the attention they deserve, and I ignore splits as a general rule (it’s just one way I try to filter the flood of new music). That’s going to have to stop now that I’ve heard this split in which Kronos Quartet rework múm’s “Smell Memory” on one track and múm remaster the song on the other.
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Kælan Mikla
Okay, I lied. When I first heard Kælan Mikla at Eistnaflug in 2014, they weren’t really my jam. But after I heard Solveig’s solo stuff, I started thinking about what a new band they were then, and how long they’ve stuck around. I got curious about their new sound, and, um, I liked it. They have evolved a ton from the DIY-sounding punks I saw. Nótt eftir nótt is so sophisticated and lush, I wouldn’t have recognized the band at all. Kælan Mikla have really grown up.
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Marína Ósk
I’m breaking my “no singles” rule again here, but I don’t think Marína Ósk even has an album out. {Update: She does. It’s called Athvarf and it’s on Spotify.} Reykjavik Grapevine listed the lyric video for “Ég sit hér í grasinu” (which I’m guessing is a lengthy cognate, “I sit here in the grass”) as an asset for language students. They were mostly joking, of course, but this video reminded me how much I love the sound of Icelandic, and made we want to renew my attempts to learn more of it. And it brought back that old fernweh feeling.
Wallis Giunta (Cinderella) and Matthew Grills (Don Ramiro). Sunny Martini photo c/o Seattle Opera
Few opera composers are as well-loved (especially at my
house) as Rossini, and everyone loves a fairy tale. Rossini’s opera is actually
named La Cenerentola, which is a mouthful. If it’s easier, he also
called it Goodness Triumphant. But it’s a good idea to use one of these names
rather than the more familiar one, because Rossini’s Cinderella is not Disney’s
Cinderella. And the “long ago in a land far away” of Seattle Opera’s Cenerentola
is Dickensian London.
Music writers love to proclaim “This year’s summer jam.” My summer jams tend to repeat from year to year (cough*Allman Brothers* cough). Just like some music begs for cold wind and drizzling rain, there is no denying that some music just seems more at home in the sunshine with the smell of sunscreen and the taste of beer. I usually listen to the former, but now that summer is officially over, here are a few of the latter that I like.
Chris Forsyth
Chris Forsyth‘s vocals occasionally veer unfortunately close to Kurt Vile territory, but it’s okay. Because most tracks on All Time Present the guitar has that Allman Brothers at the Fillmore vibe that makes everything okay. While on “Dream Song” it sounds like Cowboy Bebop on a hot desert afternoon where nothing is okay. I’m a fan.
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Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend are none of the things I usually look for in a band, but I love everything they’ve done. December drinkers of horchata Vampire Weekend have always got a summery sound. And even though it’s usually winter at my house, they never drop out of high rotation. Even a wedding-themed double album doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm.
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Alex Lahey
Australian Alex Lahey released her hooky sophomore album in May. That’s autumn where she lives, but these sun-drenched pop songs are bright and energetic enough to make even me want to hit the beach. Bonus points for unironic use of sax.
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Death and Vanilla
Death and Vanilla sounds like the name of a drizzly day band, but Are You a Dreamer sounds like the starbursts of light behind your eyelids when you look into the sun.
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Young Guv
Young Guv II by Young Guv is just the kind of laid back jangly punk pop that says, “Summer Jams.” It doesn’t work too hard, and you shouldn’t either. Just enjoy.
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Mr. Silla
I saw Mr. Silla at Iceland Airwaves in 2012. They didn’t have an album out yet. I waited and waited and eventually forgot about them. Then Grapevine featured the video for their new single “Naruto (say you wanna run away)” in advance of the release of the album Hands on Hands. It’s a summery escapist dream. My favorite season may be autumn, but sometimes when the day starts to shrink and my feet haven’t quite adjusted to boots instead of sandals yet, even I want to run away chasing eternal summer.
