In the country that gave us Bjork and Sigur Ros the debut album from Asgeir, released in September 2012 is the fastest and biggest ever selling debut album by a home grown artist, where more than 10% of the Icelandic population now own the record. 'In The Silence' is the English language version of Ásgeir's breakthrough debut album 'Dyrd í Dauðathogn', translated from Icelandic by John Grant.
The landscape that so permeates the work of his better known countrymen can be felt in the epic nature of some of these songs, most notably ‘In Harmony’ but the songs also have a delicate and personal quality too and this has much to do with Asgeir’s falsetto vocal style which is very reminiscent of Bon Iver in places. The comparison to Bon Iver can be extended to the songs themselves which have a slow burn attraction, beginning their life as pleasant but melancholic background music before systematically demanding your attention and declaring themselves special and worthy of an investment of time and consideration.
Debut single ‘King and Cross’ demonstrates Asgeir’s vocal quality but it’s a song which attracts attention more for its effective blend of a folk style with an upbeat electronic rhythm. ‘On That Day’ is a more straightforward wistful folk song but with a gorgeous melody that you want to lodge in your memory so that you can call upon it to relax you when needed.
This is a truly wonderful album proving that Icelandics are a tasteful bunch. It’s released on One Little Indian on 28th October.
Words: Russell Poad
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