As usual purveyor of minimal melancholic chamber music, this is by contrast an uplifting and richly orchestrated second album from the talented Icelandic composer, the beguiling theme of which is that there’s always light after darkness, even an eclipse.
Delicate string arrangements married with subtle synths highlight Arnalds’ trademark piano sound with meticulous studio work revealing the familiar spacious high-skied landscapes of Sigur Rós (with whom he’s toured). This is electronica using a classical vocabulary. The stunning ‘Gleypa Okkur’ suggesting nothing less than a soundtrack for a Peter Greenaway film peopled with languorous ladies climbing through ice-filled caverns.
6/10
Words by Anna Wilson
