Hjartastak is the debut album from Icelandic atmospheric post-rock duo Isafjørd. The band name translates as “fjord of ice” and was inspired by the town of Ísafjörður where both of the band-member’s fathers came from – Sólstafir’s Aðalbjörn (Addi) Tryggvason and Ragnar Zolberg of Sign/x-Pain of Salvation. They met through the Reykjavik music scene and the pairing works exceptionally well as this is a fantastic album that I will listen to again and again.
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Opening track “Falin Skemmd” has a guitar part that beckons you to follow it on a journey into the Icelandic landscape, and is probably the catchiest track on the album. Tryggvason’s vocals are instantly-recognisable to anyone familiar with Sólstafir, and Zolberg’s vocals provide a slightly softer counterpoint. Hjartastak was written in the the freezing middle of Winter in an old house with a broken piano, which is beautifully captured in the opening of “Hjartastjaki” – you can hear every icy note.
“Fjord of Hope” is the only track that is sung in English but I find that you don’t necessarily need to understand what is being sung because the tone/delivery of the words conveys the general vibe, and you can combine that with the music to let your imagination create the story. Each of the eight tracks on the album brings a something different – the distorted guitars on “Njálssaga” make it feel like the most “rock” song on the album, whereas “Andvök” is a lot slower and softer to start, becoming heavy with melancholy as the song progresses.
Hjartastak has a glorious cinematic quality to it, and all of the tracks of the album flow together to form an emotional and beautifully haunting sonic landscape. If you enjoy melancholic atmospheric post-rock I reckon you will enjoy this album very much as I do.
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Hjartastaki is released on 2nd December and can be pre-ordered on CD and LP
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Isafjørd: facebook | instagram | bandcamp
