Asgeir - Afterglow

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 12 / 6 / 2017

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Review

Ásgeir is a singer-songwriter from a tiny Icelandic hamlet called Laugarbakki which has a population of just 40 people. Remarkably with the release last September of 'In the Silence' (‘Dyrd I Daudathogn’), the twenty-year old musician has become something of an overnight sensation in his own country’s music scene. 'In the Silence' broke all records, including outselling Björk and Sigur Ros, and became Iceland’s fastest selling debut album by a domestic artist. 'Afterglow' is Ásgeir's highly anticipated second album and, a colossal career-defining moment, is greatly anticipated by fans worldwide. Winner of the Album of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards, ‘In the Silence’ sold so many copies that it is estimated one-tenth of its population now owns that release and this new offering, which has been released via One Little Indian, has all the trademarks of an artist who has been described as one of music’s most exciting new voices. “I consider myself lucky to have been able to go around the world with my friends to play,” he says. “Before touring I had only been to Sweden and Denmark. Now I don’t even remember where I have been or where I have not been.” That globe-trotting wisdom is keenly felt on 'Afterglow', which ambitiously balances icy electronic shades of Bon Iver, James Blake and Anohni with soul, R&B and even gospel influences from different eras and places. The album itself disembarks from Ásgeir's folk-related debut album from 2014 and swathes itself in blankets of melancholic electronica. This album sees Asgeir collaborating again with producer Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson and his father – renowned poet Einar Georg Einarsson – who is credited with writing the lyrics for the album alongside long-time musical collaborators, Ásgeir’s brother Thorsteinn and Julius Robertsson. Entitled 'Dýrð í Dauðaþög' in Iceland, it caught the attention of musician John Grant, who immediately recognised Ásgeir's musical talent and ended up translating the lyrics into English for the international version of the album. The songs themselves are light and airy, and dripping with his distinctive melancholic voice. He is one of those characters that looks nothing like he sounds but that's okay. It adds to the aura of an artist that I'm tipping to go far pretty soon.

Track Listing:-

1 Afterglow
2 Unbound
3 Stardust
4 Here Comes the Wave In
5 Underneath It
6 Nothing
7 I Know You Know
8 Dreaming
9 New Day
10 Fennir Yfir
11 Hold

Band Links:-

https://www.asgeirmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/asgeirmusic
https://twitter.com/AsgeirMusic
https://www.instagram.com/asgeirmusic/
https://www.youtube.com/c/Asgeirmusic
https://plus.google.com/+Asgeirmusic

Label Links:-

http://www.indian.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/olirecords
https://twitter.com/olirecords
http://www.songkick.com/users/onelittl
https://www.youtube.com/user/onelittle
https://plus.google.com/+OneLittleIndi