This cassette has been on my Discogs wantlist for some time now. Fortunately my list is set as public, because a friend of mine saw it there and voilà, a copy arrived in the mail the other day. Sometimes the social connectivity of the internet works for good instead of evil.
Þórir Georg is a talented musician, one who has released work across a variety of genres, from hardcore to ambient, punk to pop to singer-songwriter. He’s been in a number of bands and musical partnerships, perhaps most notably the hardcore band Fighting Shit alongside BAFTA winner and Emmy and Grammy nominee Ólafur Arnalds. Þórir is also a talented visual artist, and one of his pen-and-ink drawing graces a wall in our dining room. Plus he’s an all-around nice guy.
Janúar is a stunning album, a blend of lo-fi, post-punk, and neofolk dripping in darkness, the vocals aching, yearnig. The music is driving, pushing, relentless, the rhythm propelling the songs forward with heavy bass and snare snaps, creating a layer upon which Þórir’s voice swims, resigned to its dark fate. It all comes together perfectly on the second-to-last track, “Ekki Neitt”. The guitar isn’t entirely left out in the cold either, electrifying tracks like “Örlögin” and adding a psych burn around the edges. The label’s website describes Janúar as, “Cold, depressing, The Cure-influenced winter music,” and that does sum it up nicely.
I’m not sure how many copies of this were put out on cassette by the small DIY Icelandic label Paradísarborgarplötur (a label well worth checking out), but probably not many. Fortunately for you though, my dear reader, Janúar is available digitally on Þórir Georg’s Bandcamp page HERE, so you can give it a listen.