Search - Amiina :: Kurr

Wintertime music

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To be honest, Amiina didn't really grab me the first time I listened. It flowed in one ear, out the other, and left me thinking, "What was I listening to again?"



But I started liking them after a few more listens. Their ethereal little ambient pop tunes sound like Sigur Ros with chimes and violins (minus the vocals), and their debut album "Kurr" is full of that kind of stuff. A few songs are too ambient for their own good, but the majority hit the target.



It opens on a hesitant note with "Sogg," a delicate little wintry melody that sounds like it was tapped out on a toy piano during a snowstorm. It's basically a pretty little cycling melody doesn't really go anywhere, but it serves as a pretty good introduction.



That is left to the gentle "Rugla," a folky melody that is slowly overtaken by a web of violins and assorted strings, and some muted little whoops in the background. "Glámur" is a pretty, stately little tune on metallophone, smothered in strings, which wouldn't sound out of place in a music box.



That sets the theme for the rest of the album -- haunting, chilly pop tunes, folky melodies doused in violins, mournful little string ballads, ghostly interludes of wailing synth. And toward the end, the songs get really full-bodied -- a melancholy horn tune, and the swirling, interwoven "Lóri."



It does have a few dud songs, though. The finale "Boga is a good song, but almost ten minutes in length. "Lúpína" sounds like bamboo wind chimes -- not bad, but rather superfluous -- and "Sexfaldur" simply doesn't come to life until the very end.



It somehow doesn't come as a surprise that Amiina sounds like Sigur Ros trapped in a music box -- apparently they have collaborated together, and had a part in the "Screaming Masterpiece" documentary along with Mum, Bjork and other bands. So their pretty, ethereal sound isn't a surprise, although it takes some time to get into it and enjoy its layers.



Their ethereal sound mainly comes from the chiming metallophone, glockenspiel, the airy windy synth, and the tinkly electric piano. But they also weave in some stately classical string arrangements -- violin, viola and cello -- as well as some gentle harmonium. And in some of the catchier and/or folkier songs, they ground the melodies with acoustic guitar.



It's a very smooth, ethereal, wintry kind of music, and Amiina don't really break it up with vocals. No vocals, no lyrics. There are a few songs where they murmur non-words like "la la," but these seem more like another instrument than actual singing. I will say this -- they have very pretty, fairyline voices, which doesn't hurt the music's impact.



"Kurr" is a solid debut for a talented Icelandic quartet. They need to strengthen a few weak spots, but overall it's very pretty."

Amusing grace

Dominique J. B. Feneyrou | Paris, France | 04/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This graceful piece has all the bells, strings, xylophone and chime influences which will catch you ears in a kind way. Its intense but soft musicality with seducing tones can induce you to remember Amelie's soundtrack: it has that instant classicality to it with high pitched almost naive and playful piano keys and steady violins. It is also haunting but not in a dark way, more in that grounded but light folk touch. It's at that edge where it avoids marshmallowy syrup, but it remains purely "musical" -not pop, nor rock, no vocals.

Amiina manage to guide you with grace through different types of instruments and their blending makes for one unique genre, agreeable in all, with an innocent vanilla like taste although it could be perceived to some as rather identical, one from the other song. I think the interest here it's the originality and calmness that breathes through as well as the playfulness of the whole: it does have the Iceland touch without the pretentiousness maybe of higher valued "stars" and other "rock" influences.

"Kurr" will fit into someone's collection who seeks to diversify and keep abreast of the current trends without falling into the pop-group-flavor-of-the-week syndrome.

"