Following the release of last years lauded Bury The Moon album and successful world tour, Ásgeir is returning with his remarkable new EP, The Sky Is Painted Gray Today.
Four textured, original tracks, that’ve been long gestating, were recorded for the most part in 2019 in Hljodriti and have been tweaked over the last few months. They mark something of a return to the artists deep roots, working once again with his father on their poetic Icelandic lyrics, as well as enlisting the likes of John Grant and Pétur Ben for the translations, a writing relationship that worked to great effect on his debut.
The collection encompasses his signature emotive delivery, delicate yet expansive folk, and intricate guitars. A more stripped back approach was taken when putting these together, with a focus put on his singular vocal and the dexterous strumming of layered, warm acoustics. There’s an understated potency to tracks like Sister and Out On The Edge, a sense that even in their simplicity, we are in the presence of a master craftsman, humbly, at his best.
It also includes the miraculous story Sunday Drive, a lyrical retelling of a car accident Ásgeir experienced in his youth. He tells us; “Sunday Drive was written about a car accident I had when I was 7 years old. Every Sunday me and my family used to drive on top of a mountain close to the town where we lived and then get out of the car, walk around and enjoy the view. On the day of the accident my older sister was allowed to take pictures on a new camera that my mom and dad had recently bought but they didn’t trust me with it so I got upset and stayed in the car while they went out to take pictures. While I was upset waiting in the car I started playing with the gear shift and handbrake and suddenly the car started moving. It flew down the hill and flipped around a few times and was completely destroyed when it stopped. I crawled out pretty much uninjured, only needing four stitches on my head.
Ásgeir’s debut album Dýrð í dauðaþögn was released in 2012 and was the best-selling debut record ever in Iceland. The English language edition, In The Silence released in 2014 connected with an entirely new audience. Here in Australia, it was spotlighted as triple j Feature Album and both the album and its lead single King and Cross achieved gold ARIA accreditation. Ásgeir’s first Splendour In The Grass in 2015 saw him return to Australia just two months after supporting alt-J on their national stadium tour. That year, King and Cross clocked in at number 10 in The Hottest 100.
Ásgeir followed this with the introspective, emotive folktronica of Afterglow in 2017. The record was his second to be highlighted as triple j Feature Album and the station co-presented his sold out Splendour In The Grass sideshows. Due to popular demand he returned to Australian shores that summer for the The Falls Music And Arts Festival.
Last year saw the release of Ásgeir’s exceptional Bury The Moon. Lead single Youth premiered on triple j’s Good Nights with Bridget Hustwaite, with the record going on to score Feature Album at Double J and receive international acclaim from The Standard (UK), The Music, Tone Deaf, OUTinPerth and many more.
The Sky Is Painted Gray Today will also be available on a very limited run of neon orange vinyl.
Source: Media release, image: Jonatan Gretarsson
You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.
