Samaris: Silkidrangar

Iceland strikes again with this rather beguiling trio of oddly named musicians (Aslaug Run Magnusdottir, Jofriour Akadottir, Doddi Kari Steinflorsson) and even odder-named songs. Not to worry about the words you can't properly pronounce and probably don't understand (the lyrics are appropriated from 19th-century Icelandic poets we've never heard of). Instead, focus on the music, which is a fertile ground of electronica, pagan folk melodies and that special, spectral, skeletal sound that seems to effortlessly seep up from Icelandic soil. Eg vildi fegin Veroa, Brennur Stjarna, Maninn og brodir Hans and Hrafnar are the sorts of tunes you thought had disappeared since Björk's sense of true song craft went AWOL. And speaking of Björk, we love the way lead singer Akadottir subtly references Iceland's most famous export without slavishly impersonating her. samaris.is
Download: Eg vildi fegin Veroa, Maninn og brodir Hans, Hrafnar