
For those who don't know, this is the thirteenth iTunes Mixery . Here's how it goes: I play iTunes on shuffle -> tell you which song comes up -> provide the mp3 and a tidbit -> continue until five songs and embarrassment are complete. Again, nothing's off-limits – I don't "fix the mix". Have a look into my life… Sprengjuhöllin - "Worry till Spring" [MP3] ( MySpace ) Warm Icelandic (see what I did there??) acoustic pop with comforting vocals and a soft, soothing pace. Sun Kil Moon - [...]

For those who don't know, this is the thirteenth iTunes Mixery . Here's how it goes: I play iTunes on shuffle -> tell you which song comes up -> provide the mp3 and a tidbit -> continue until five songs and embarrassment are complete. Again, nothing's off-limits – I don't "fix the mix". Have a look into my life… (I picked the photo because the mix became pretty emo and teenagey). Sprengjuhöllin - "Worry till Spring" [MP3] ( MySpace ) Warm Icelandic (see what I did there??) acoustic pop with comforting vocals and [...]

Iceland's Sprengjuhöllin (pronounced "sprenk-yu-hok-lin" and roughly translated to, "castle of explosions") rolled into Ottawa's Avant Garde last night for the fifth show of their 10-day Eastern Canadian tour. The show was a treat for the 20-or-so people who turned out. Sprengjuhöllin played a sweat-filled set of well-executed pop rock. The five members squeezed onto a stage no bigger than the average balcony and ran through a selection of their two albums, Bestu kvedjur (2008) and Timarnir okkar (2007). Having translated half of the songs into English, for the tour, it's clear that [...]
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my weekly podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . Or just listen to the latest [...]

I'm sure you already wanted to win that pair of tickets we're giving away to tomorrow night's Mates of State show , but I've got even more reason for you to shoot us an email saying you want to win those bad boys: Sprengjuhöllin . Not only is Sprengjuhöllin from Iceland (Iceland! Don't front, you know that kicks ass), but they have already tasted critical and commercial success on their eclectic island home. But now they are coming to show Halifax how Iceland rocks [...]

MySpace If it were possible to monetize pure musical oddity, then not only would Iceland's economic problems be a thing of the past, they might well be the world's top fiscal superpower. Yes, the likes of Bjork and Sigur Ros would guarantee a GDP many times greater than the rest of the planet, but the tiny country's smaller exports would also help push things forward - case in point, Sprengjuhollin (it's pronounced the way it's spelled. Go on, try). The Reykjavík quintet don't wave their freak flag nearly [...]

A new collection of Secret Garden performances will resume tomorrow, April 29th. Here's a schedule of what's in store. If you're unfamiliar with this ever-changing magical garden, it is a mini-documentary series in which I film bands performing a few songs outside the context of a regular show. Along with the schedule you'll also find some "candid band photos" that, as a tradition of my own, I take after each shoot. If you're a blogger who'd like to write a preview for any of these episodes before they release, just email me at [...]

Reykjavik's five-piece, Sprengjuhöllin , is one of the bands I missed in Austin and caught the following week in New York. They sang a few songs for the Secret Garden in the afternoon, and in the evening I headed to their show at Fontana's (according to them, quite a few people in the audience were Icelandic). Snorri Helgason is a soft-spoken front man who lets his more boisterous band mates do the talking. Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson likes to do accents, and he does it well, and he teamed up with keyboardist Atli Bollason to ask what in [...]

I'm sure you know by now that I have a soft spot for indie pop, and this time it's of the Icelandic variety. Lately, Sprengjuhöllin has reminded me just why this is. "Worry Til' Spring" (the only song of theirs I can understand) is a sweet number about unrequited love to a girl named Melinda. "Keyrum Yfir Ísland," which means "Driving Over Iceland," is super catchy, it's too bad I can't sing along... Sprengjuhöllin - Worry Til' Spring [highly rec'd] Sprengjuhöllin - Keyrum Yfir Ísland [download or [...]