Cianan: Hey Craig, I hear that you have another CD from an Icelandic group that you're going to review.

Craig: Yeah, they're called Einóma.

Cianan: Ok, cool. Do they sound anything like Sigur Rós?

Craig: Why do you assume that they sound like Sigur Rós?

Cianan: Because... they're from Iceland!

Craig: Just because they're from the same country, doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to sound exactly the same, now does it?

Cianan: I guess not. So, do they sound the same?

(silence)

Craig: Yes.

I guess that the surprise success of Sigur Rós took Iceland by surprise. I have this mental image of a hundred teenagers in garage bands across Reykjavík trading in their Marshall stacks and instead attempting to make all sorts of weird noises in their bedrooms in the hopes of being "the next Sigur Rós". But seriously, it is amazing how one band has come to dominate the scene over there so much. Everything, and I mean everything that comes out of that country these days sounds at least faintly like Sigur Rós.

Not that I mind, since they are one band that I enjoy very much. But still, it'd be sort of cool if Icelandic bands didn't borrow so shamelessly from them. Case in point: Einóma, and their album Milli Tórverka. While it's a lot different on the face to an album like Ágætis Byrjun, there are still similarities, and I was thinking about the latter album the whole time I was listening to the former.

Like I said, there are differences. This album is very artificial and mechanical sounding, whereas that other album is organic and natural. This album is also a lot more abrasive and harsh, a lot more distorted, and a lot more cold and oppressive. It sounds almost like alien music in some places, with its total lack of song structure, lack of any (recognisable) instruments, and utterly abrasive percussion which doesn't just skip beats, it ruthlessly tears them apart.

Craig: They're a bit more similar to Múm, in that they've got a primarily electric-driven sound, but the expansiveness and alien feeling to the music is still there.

Cianan: So what's your opinion? Is it worth buying?

Craig: That depends really. Sort of like the rather minimalist artwork and packaging, the music feels a little sparse. It oozes artistic merit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good to listen to. Die-hard post-rock/IDM fans probably already own this. For the rest of us though, I think it's just a little too oblique.