Man! Just what we need: another understated singer-songwriter with delicate songs and tales to tell! But actually, in this case, we do, we really do. To say that Svavar Knútur is just another singer-songwriter is a bit of a misconception anyway, and any thoughts of another love-lorn, sensitive, gap-year troubadour with skinny jeans and complicated hair should be dismissed immediately. Mainly because Knútur really knows how to put a song together, and whilst that should be the minimum requirement to join the ranks, it is, surprisingly, an increasingly rare skill. So, thank the gods for artists as astute as him.
Ahoy! Side B is a gorgeous and creative collection of songs that falls roughly into the indie-folk sound, but at its best, can effortlessly move well beyond such confines. As I listen to this masterful collection of songs, one name springs to mind…Damien Rice and that, in my world at least, is about as great a reference point as you can hope to find yourself burdened with.
“November,” which kicks things off, sets the tone perfectly. An understated Winter’s tale that runs from gentle, picked guitars and string washes to epic indie squalls. From here, we are treated to hushed folk traditions with “Refur,” itself a sublime and evocative vocalscape; delicate piano-led ballads courtesy of “The Tide is Rising;” such slices of deft pop-rock as “Januar;” and the fantastic curtain call that is “While The World Burns – Repainted” perhaps the most perfect indie-folk anthem I have heard since…no, just the most perfect indie-folk anthem I have heard. Full stop.
Anyone who can produce an album that both reminds me of and makes me worry about the place that the aforementioned Damien Rice’s masterful album O holds in people’s minds is an artist I need to make sure remains on my musical radar. Is the baton being handed over…could be!
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