 
|
BENNI HEMM HEMM
Kajak (Morr Music)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz
If I've learned one thing about Icelandic music it is that the songs are sure to be full of grandeur. It is a precedent set masterfully by Sigur Ros, now continued by Benni Hemm Hemm, a band conceptually described by many as a cross between the aforementioned surrealists and the man who mined Illinois, Sufijan Stevens.
It is a comparison I can live with, although anyone looking for the ethereally challenging vocal style will be disappointed. Here, Benedikt H Hermannsson isn't using his esophagus as an instrument. Sure, they both sing in Icelandic, and that is a strong connection, but this is much more traditional. An example: the album Kajak's second song "Brekkan" sounds a lot like an indie-pop take on "Fools Rush In" - nowhere, at any time in the Sigur Ros catalog, is there anything that sounds like anything else (that is, except another Sigur Ros song). What is common here is that build to grandeur - that songwriting pre-occupation with getting to a beautiful "moment." Benni Hemm Hemm gets there just as masterfully on Kajak. The opening track "Skvavars" sets the precedent, coming across like a child's parade march, the same with "Snjor Ljoss Snjor." The latter song is constructed of such a fun, gradually tempting progression, it runs on for only three minutes, the end impression being where else was Benni Hemm Hemm going to go with this. And just when you felt you needed to know what they are saying to feel the pull of emotion, "Hola A Hey Hola" comes and tugs at the emo heart strings.
There are 1034 bands singing in English who don't pull like these guys.
If this is beginning to sound like an absurdist exercise, that's perfectly understandable. Another thing about Icelandic music that I've noted is the words when written look like sci-fi characters (and Microsoft Word loves to tell you they are misspelled, making you look further like a second rate writer). Do whatever possible to avoid that feeling however. A translation might be: otherworldly, certainly; cartoonish and amateur, definitely not.
This is an excellent effort - possibly one of the year's best already.
© 2007 - Erick Mertz