Iceland.

Hello, I have returned from a dream composed from a total of 12 hours sitting on a plane.

My brother and I have very recently returned from a trip to Iceland. Reykjavik has become one of my favourite cities for so many reasons that I am going to avoid gushing as much as I can.
We all know me, though. I went to see what their music scene was like. Of course; I picked one of the worst weeks to go ever. It seems like they were still half recovering from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds curating an All Tomorrows Parties event a month or so prior. They also have their Airwaves festival coming up at the end of October, which looks like a very (VERY) good time. I actually didn't get to see a single live act while I was there. The only bands that were billed to be playing around the city (from what I could see) were all cover bands. So, I took my show money to a local record shop and bought an album I had never heard of or seen in our shops.

SAMARIS

This album stood out to me based on the fact that the label that released it in Iceland was actually the record shop I was standing in at the time. 12 Tónar seemed to be the bigger of the record shops in the downtown area in Reykjavik. Their selection was far from massive, but what they had is what stood out. Once you get past the stacks of Sigur Rós and Björk CDs, there was a wealth of interesting imports and alluring independent and small local bands. The only reason I only picked up once CD was the sheer price of everything (which makes sense considering everything would be an import).
I made a fantastic choice, though. From what I can read on the internet (because the liner notes are all in Icelandic), Samaris is 3 teenagers from Iceland who made a pop album. It's somewhere between dream pop and Triphop. Everything is etherial and dreamy, yet the backbeats are all hiphop based. This creates the strangest and most trance-inducing sounds I have come across in a while. The vocal styling is what grabbed me instantly. I hate to compare the band to other Icelandic bands, but the singer really does sound like the middle between Björk and Fever Ray. There is that innocence behind it that just gives me goosebumps.
Everything is incredibly minimalistic and sparse. I initially did not enjoy parts and pieces of the instrumentation; but the more I listen, the more I realize the subtle brilliance in every layer constructed. There always seems to be one instrument that feels placed on top of the mix, very similar to where the vocals usually sit. Instead of moving the other sound out of the way when the voice comes in, they meld the two to create this strange third melody out of the dissonance.
The album wraps up with 4 remixes of songs found prior on the album. Normally I am not a fan of this sort of track progression, but I was not initially aware that this was the case. Instead, it feels like a revisitation to themes found earlier. I will admit that a huge part of this is the language barrier.
Overall, I would recommend this album to anyone looking for a wicked album of sweet jams. I usually hate it when reviews use lines like "chill out" to describe sounds, but it works so damned well in this context. It's only 9.99 on iTunes, go pick it up.

Here's a track