Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are many reasons in which to find yourself as a listener immensely satisfied with exploring the music of Nordic tradition. Whether it is the music from Norway, Sweden, Finland, the exceptional talent of the island race of the Faroe Islands or even Iceland, there is so much beauty contained within the music that it can make a music lover hanker for less intrusive times, times when the narrative was the big sell and the music a picturesque addition, the soundscapes of the sea crashing into the rugged hardy rocks along the shores with a guitar being gently teased in the background.
As Hafdis Huld prepares to launch her latest album, Home, one thing is for certain, she is yet another reason to believe in the power of the Nordic race as a set of musicians in which should be conquering all before them.
Home is the third original album by the former Gus Gus member and it is a set of songs in which to relish amongst, tracks in which the flowing lava that runs under Iceland and threatens every so often to blow skyward as if shaking a remonstrating fist at the Heavens, could surely be calmed, settled and lulled back to a quiet slumber by the playing of. Charming or persuasive it matters not in the end, what matters is the intense feelings that it stirs up inside, the imagery of songs such as the single Queen Bee, the delightful danger that resides in Wolf, the thought of being far away from where you are needed in Little Light and the gorgeous I Miss The Rain are episodes in life in which the story teller shows perfectly that life is made up of the narrative, it just needs a guitar to give it life.
Hafdis Huld is another name to carve into the annals of Icelandic super musicianship. The northern outpost of one of Europe’s most unexplored pearls, the glistening and breath taking combination of the elegantly humble and unpretentious coupled with the exceptionally uncommon, a mixture that just sweeps the listener off their feet in wonderful fashion. A triumph of the Nordic tradition of home spun narrative with just a guitar and piano for company.
Home is released on May 5th. Northwest audiences can see Hafdis Huld perform at the Bury Met on May 8th.
Ian D. Hall