Scandinavia has a lot to answer for when it comes to my music collection.....


Firstly their is Myrkur with her self titled mini album. Full of blast beat drumming and icy guitar this is pure Norse black metal but from the fevered imagination of one Danish woman.....


Vocals are minimal but there are occasional pastoral female voices making this a cross between a church recital and the sounds of hell. If Myrkur is responsible for the drums here then she is on a par with Iggor Cavalera or Dave Lombardo though I suspect a drum machine may be in use....


The highlight is Nattens Barn with melody and brutality fighting for the ascendancy - Quite a stunning debut










 Secondly there is Solstafir from Iceland who have released my song of the year. Otta is a nine and a half minute journey through some very odd minds.


The song is underpinned by a repeating banjo refrain whilst slowly building like some post rock epic. There are echoes of Mogwai and Blueneck but this is very singular in its sound. Half way through it just sort of stops with only washes of keyboard and guitar confirming the song is still going. Like listening to a glacier moving but then the banjo returns and the music rises again.
The voice strains towards a crescendo while violins join in and suddenly it's over....


And did I forget to mention it's all sung in Icelandic ?