WITH HIS debut album, In The Silence (aka Dýrð í dauðaþögn ) having come out of nowhere to be a phenomenon in his native Iceland, and winning critical acclaim and audiences across Europe, expectations are very high for the follow-up.
For his second album, Ásgeir has wisely decided not to repeat exactly the sound and approach of his debut, instead he has delved further into the more electronic aspects of his music, to create a fuller sounding, more layered, and sonically textured work, yet the songcraft and writing is unmistakably Ásgeir's own - beautifully melodic, melancholic, yet hopeful, and everything bathed in that magnificent falsetto of his.
The album then is not so much a departure, but a development, a further evolution of his sound - witness the wonderful opening title track - and with added elements of contemporary RnB ('Unbound', 'Stardust' ). There is also the high tempo and infectious ('I Know You Know' ), which should appeal across various audiences; while others create a sense of epic grandeur ('Dreaming' ). Over everything Ásgeir's voice muses beautifully, drawing the listener in with a sound that is intimate, confessional, confiding, and comforting.
