Floating on the Wednesday Sky
That quote above, drifted forward from the Icelandic vocals of Agnes (Björt Andradóttir) lead singer of SYKUR, who having just emerged from the crowd like a female Shamanistic witch doctor, instills a giddy/playful sense that we are about to enter a joyful rights of passage, we are about to take aural mescaline.
To the thumping introduction track by the Halldór (Eldjárn) and Stefán (Finnbogason), (the missing fourth member Kristján Eldjárn is currently studying in the USA) and the mischievous knowing smile of Agnes, we are willing going to leap through the dance doors of perception, and it is wonderful.
I was fortunate to see SYKUR play in London back in 2011 and it was a joy to behold. Only let down by a rather weak sound system, yet you could still hear the songs of exquisite pop/dance/electro influence and euphoria struggling to break on through those audio restraints. So I was really looking forward to seeing them again after a couple of years. There were no such problems this time.
Recently taken under the wings of Mark Jones/Wall of Sound, they really couldn’t have signed to a better label, enabling the band to go from strength to strength. From the deeply beautiful sinister heart broken depths of ‘Battleship’, which sounds like an evil Bjork has taken possession, to the celestial joy of ‘Curling’ (still destined to become a future summer dance hit), and on to the sheer pop joy of ‘Messy Hair’, it’s like the greatest hits of a band who’ve been around for years. You may not have heard the songs before, but you feel (in the best way possible) that they are on your best night out ever dance mix. That is an incredible ability from a band this young.
I’ve mentioned in my previous SYKUR review all the excellent bands that come to mind when listening/dancing to them, so I’ll not list them again, but it has to be mentioned just how awesome Agnes voice sounds, with a echoes of Bjork, Donna Summer, and even Grace Jones. I’m not saying she sounds exactly like them, but as her voice grows, the even more powerful voice awaits, the personality of her voice rises even higher, one dance step closer to world dominance. Backed with the excellent choices of beats from the guys, all the elements are ready for this band to metamorphose into something truly incredible, and everyone there on Wednesday knew it.
SYKUR’s latest album ‘Mesopotamia’ is out now for more info visit www.sykur.com
‘Curling’ single out on 26th August Here’s a pre-order link