Hjaltalín live review
A review of the Hjaltalín gig at The Freebutt on Jan 21st 2009.
I was privileged to witness Hjaltalín play at the Iceland Airwaves music festival in Reykjavík last October and that night I felt I made a special discovery, alongside bands like Borko and Retro Stefson; I really reached the depths of Icelandic splendor. It seemed I had been digging for gold and had actually found bands that loved their brass.
Hjaltalín did well at the end of 2008. Considering that their debut album ‘Sleepdrunk Seasons’ was released at the beginning of December, they fared well in the end of year polls. This was an apt time to get some buzz going and especially to play a few UK shows.
Tonight in Brighton, the Freebutt is heaving. Compared to the lowly attended Lymbyc System gig here last week, you could say that Reykjavík is the new Brooklyn. But you could say anything in the way of hyperbole and none of it would start to do justice for this magical, magical band.
‘Thu komst vid hjartad i mer’ is a cover of a Páll Óskar Europop track. It’s amazing and Hjaltalín make it their own. ‘The Tree’s Don’t Like The Smoke’ is sung in English and it’s this flitting between Icelandic and English that makes them so endearing. The way they use brass towards the upsurge in ‘Debussy’ works wonders as the vocals of Rebekka and Högni perfectly complement each other at the rousing climax.
The icing on the cake is ‘The Boy Next Door”. I nearly cried during this point, its graceful and full of exquisite adorn. “You’ll be fine,” sings Rebekka. I have to be, because there’s a celebration on the horizon tonight in the name of living. A house-party of epic proportions topped off one of the best nights ever. An Icelandic fairy-tale in Brighton.
Marcus Walsh
