{"id":35663,"date":"2015-09-22T11:00:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=35663"},"modified":"2015-09-22T11:18:26","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T16:18:26","slug":"review-kontinuum-kyrr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-kontinuum-kyrr\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Kontinuum \u2013 Kyrr"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Icelandic post-rock? Polar expeditions gone awry? Yes, please!<\/p>\n

Kyrr<\/em> (meaning “Still” in Icelandic) occupies a space between the despondent melodicism of slightly more metallic groups like Insomnium<\/strong> or Ghost Brigade<\/strong> and the goth-rock swagger of bands like the now defunct Beastmilk<\/strong> and Kontinuum\u2019s<\/strong> fellow countrymen in S\u00f3lstafir<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is certainly easy, then, to get lost in a sea of imitators, especially in the over-saturated climate of post-rock\/post-anything.\u00a0 However, Kontinuum manage to carve their own path through the ice-choked arctic waters of musical comparison, whilst still paying tribute to their genre elders (looking at you, Sigur Ros<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s singular focus on song-craft really shines\u00a0through out the entire record: songs are kept relatively succinct, all while dynamic structures allow for the songs to breathe.\u00a0 Kontinuum avoids the common pitfall of excessive song lengths that is\u00a0commonly associated with the genre, capitalizing instead on metallic riffing and bursts of energy (“The Red Stream”).\u00a0 Whereas other post-rock outfits might find satisfaction in lapsing into drawn-out, lethargic wanderings, Kontinuum are at their best when driving forward with the urgency of a man attempting to outrun a blizzard.\u00a0 In this way, the songs never outstay their welcome and the intense melodic statements therein tend to have more impact upon subsequent listens.<\/p>\n

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Also of note is the vocal delivery, and with that, the lyrical themes that form the overarching concept for Kyrr<\/em>.\u00a0 The vocal melodies have obviously been constructed with care and a masterful ear.\u00a0 I find myself walking around during the day humming the vocal lines, sometimes even attempting (poorly) to sing along with the Icelandic lyrics; the timbre of the vocals paired with the despondent melodies is, to me, inspiring.\u00a0 Kontinuum\u2019s vocalists employ a very straightforward approach: cleanly sung vocal lines with a hint of gothic crooning (hence the earlier Beastmilk allusion).\u00a0 They refrain from histrionics and other attempts to impress, instead opting for a vocal timbre with deep, masculine authority, which, when paired with the richly intoned Icelandic lyrics, sounds as if some Norse god is singing, commanding the listener to persevere through their own personal, elemental struggle (“Hildargotu Heimsveldi”).<\/p>\n