In which Reykjavik's answer to the Doves and Coldplay unveil their debut EP, hoping to prove that Icelandic music isn't just about Bjork.
'Breathe', the stunning lead track, is intensely intimate and radiates a bleary-eyed warmth. Arnar Gudjonsson's distorted vocals possess a beautiful, glowing fragility, blending in perfectly with the subtle piano line and gently weighted acoustic strumming. The result is near-perfection in 'quiet is the new loud', woozy melancholia.
After a strong start, though, the EP rapidly loses shape. The remaining two tracks wallow rather than revel in abject misery. Favour is fairly non-descript, boasting none of 'Breathe''s ethereal beauty. 'Alone In The Sun' picks-up the pace, but is, essentially, a pretty dull, turgid substitute for the Doves.
Over-critical, perhaps, but it must be said that 'Breathe' does raise unfairly high expectations.
