There is something exceptionally Icelandic about Pascal Pinon right from the start of Sundur. You can hear
Sigur Ros, Björk and the fascinating island’s landscape and culture deep inside the bones of the band and the music it makes.
It’s soulful, honest and beautiful music. These two girls have a way with weaving delicate and majestic songs. Sundur opens with a piano lament that doesn’t try to do too much, the space of the piece leaving a mark, before the second track and first single ‘53’ appears. The rest of the album stays faithful to that template, sentiment, and overall minimal and spacious feel.
The whole record feels like being inside an exquisite cocoon. The voices and never crowded instrumentation soothe and coax us into a safe but special place. The album may not possess the widest variety of tracks you’re ever likely to hear but there is something in the way these girls tell a tale, in the sheer strength of their musical voice that leaves you powerless to resist.
Enough highlights to not be able to list them, and enough here to not only think Pascal Pinon is becoming a valuable part of Iceland’s musical landscape, but to have sculped an album out of ice that could truly provide a wondrous soundtrack to the winter ahead and far beyond. A band that once more makes Iceland seem like some kind of spectacular Wonderland.