Considering both the population of Iceland and Björk's and Sigur Rós's immense global popularity, the country's got a pretty darn efficient music scene. Chalk the suprising success up to a supportive art community, high literacy rates, or the nation's awe-inspiring natural beauty, but not everyone in Reykjavik is totally happy with this alt-oligarchy. Enter folk outfit Without Gravity, a band whose jingoist press releases call for an indie revolt to show the world what Icelandic music's really about-- simple, American grass-roots folk.
Denouncing many of their compatriots for aiming simply to "outweird each other," Without Gravity at least has an admirable goal. In the tradition of European folksters Donovan or Nick Drake, Without Gravity borrows heavily from the American country/folk rock scene; yet while those 1960s-bred artists looked to Dylan, Without Gravity settles for passing as a fatigued Iron & Wine.
Single-name vocalist Kalli (What? No accent or umlaut?!) leads a lumberjack version of the Hives, keeping the music simple, the wardrobe plaid and denim, and the message clear and repetitious; guy gets sad, guy retreats to nature for introspection, guy feels redeemed. To further homogenize matters, each song's arrangement and intensity is virtually identical. Two acoustics, upright bass, and pussyfoot percussion, making for one powerful 45-minute elephant tranquilizer of oceans, skies, rivers, and birds rallying around choruses like, "Where have you gone?/ What have I done?" and "It's been far too long/ It's been far too cold."
If these guys want credit for breaking from your country's traditionally ambient, experimental artists, they can have their kudos, but it's a Pyrrhic victory. For all their rabble-rousing ambitions, Tenderfoot succeeds only in capturing an aesthetic at its most structural. Fortunately, Without Gravity doesn't overtly cater to the adult contemporary crowd, save for some misused mandolins and strings. However, if there were a distinctive, single-worthy song here, you'd probably be looking at Iceland's Grammy-friendly answer to David Gray. As is, it seems the great Icelandic folk takeover falls flat on its face, and the title of "Third Most Popular Icelander" still rests safely in the hands of, oh let's just say, Prime Minister Halldór \xC1sgrí2msson?
