Photo: Justine Trickett
At just 21 years old, Ásgeir is already an Icelandic legend - having had his debut album outsell musical staples such as Björk and Sigur Rós to become the country’s fastest selling record by a native ever last year. The album is said to bless the homes of 1 in 10 Icelanders.
The folktronica artist has a heedful, spiritual quality to his voice, as his range hits the upper echelons in flawlessly fluctuating falsetto. He possesses a natural ability to lead you into the dangerous mystic with fluid, atmospheric tempo changes, as if, as all great folk does, telling the tales of man.
Performing in the epic Union Chapel venue, with its potent, doctrinal connotations, added an undeniable, haunting intensity to the set, as Ásgeir wandered between exposed wallowing to the occasional rocky climax – all reinforced by his nectar vocals, which spilled the occasional decipherable line, such as, “Don’t leave me in your wake”.
Comparable at times to Bon Iver’s sparse arrangements or James Blake’s immense vocal range, yet with stunting, futuristic, lamenting synths intermittently intruding. As humble, shy Ásgeir addressed the audience, his once so powerful voice quivered, whilst he forced out compliments to the crowd and “the most beautiful venue” he’s ever played.
Towards the end of the set came his better-known offerings such as ‘Going Home’, which had the emotionally charged fans clapping with anticipation and did not disenchant. Playing three days after the anniversary of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain’s death, Ásgeir paid tribute with a wondrous cover of 'Heart Shaped Box'.
Returning quickly to his own material, which, taking into account his age, he has a sufficient amount of, Ásgeir continued easeful harmonies trickling over folk and electro music, tight in its subtleness, as he flits sedulously between languages. The pre-encore closer was ‘Torrent’, which obeys his pretested format of juxtaposing apocalyptic highs with brooding lows.
For the encore, Ásgeir returned for a completely austere offering, which saw him and a guitar follow the indisputable, time-honoured folk formula, as he lulled his way to a passionate impact that secured his sound would be permanently branded in memory.
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