Word: bandness
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Perhaps the biggest problem with the whole release is that 5/6 of the band is clearly just eye candy...
...never seen the band before, and given the fact that most people picture non-Björk Icelanders to be bearded wanderers of the fjördlands, I wasn’t prepared for the fact that frontman Jónsi þor Birgisson is actually a skinny, clean-shaven little guy with a silly, pomade-induced flip in his bangs. But that youthful aspect was what gave him such gravity...
Youth, especially infancy, was a pervading theme of the show. Images of baby doll faces, toys, and gestating fetuses were projected on a screen behind the band. These simple sights were accompanied by relatively simple sounds—competent drumming and lots of tinkering around with xylophones and such—and I wasn’t exactly moved to a transcendent state of ecstasy. But that’s the point...
When you’re in the womb, all you need to hear is a slow thumping and the muffled soundtrack of a language you can’t understand yet. The band has even invented a funny little way to put us all into that irretrievable state of nature. They write a bunch of their songs in “Hopelandish,” a nonsense language that’s intended to allow the listener to interpret the lyrics however he or she so desires...
...more seasoned jazzmen often bring to the table. While you won’t see Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, or Brad Mehldau here, you will see brash young prodigies who hit on sweater-clad girls or run to nearby pizza places between sets. Friday night, most members of the band didn’t even look old enough to get in the door...