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Ölvis, "Ölvis"
Resonant
Icelandic newcomer Orlygur Thor Orlygsson creates primarily short butsweet instrumental guitar pieces, and on his debut album he displays awide range of emotions and styles. Ölvis has the good sense toconcentrate on the good moments and not dwell too long on pieces, whichmakes for a streamlined debut that introduces his handiwork withoutneedless filler. Recorded and played by Orlygsson with a few guests ondrums and synth only, the album is also a self-made man kind ofachievement. There are moments where it's hard to believe that one mancreated all these lush and pleasant soundscapes, so on that level,mission accomplished. Unfortunately, there are some areas where I couldnot avoid the feeling that certain elements were particularly annoying.First, "mostly" instrumental means that there are vocals here andthere, and they are so drenched in effects and faded in the mix thatthey're hardly noticeable. However, occasionally they are audible justenough to know that they are ever so slightly off-key, and that makesthem unnecessary andoff-putting. Instrumental only would be preferred on those tracks,since the music itself is quite pleasing. Here and there, though, eventhat has its moments of what I like to call nails-on-a-chalkboardness,such as when the music is a bit too repetitive with not enoughvariation. Switching to the other section earlier would have savedthese tracks for me, but as it stands I would more than likely skipthem on repeat listens. These are minor complaints on an otherwisewell-rounded debut, however, as Orlygsson has all the other bases morethan covered. Memorable melodies, a good mix of instruments, peaks andvalleys, and the incorporation of varied rhythms and styles make this adebut full of things to like. There is room for improvement, but that'sall in good time; for now, there's plenty more present to make up forit.
Icelandic newcomer Orlygur Thor Orlygsson creates primarily short butsweet instrumental guitar pieces, and on his debut album he displays awide range of emotions and styles. Ölvis has the good sense toconcentrate on the good moments and not dwell too long on pieces, whichmakes for a streamlined debut that introduces his handiwork withoutneedless filler. Recorded and played by Orlygsson with a few guests ondrums and synth only, the album is also a self-made man kind ofachievement. There are moments where it's hard to believe that one mancreated all these lush and pleasant soundscapes, so on that level,mission accomplished. Unfortunately, there are some areas where I couldnot avoid the feeling that certain elements were particularly annoying.First, "mostly" instrumental means that there are vocals here andthere, and they are so drenched in effects and faded in the mix thatthey're hardly noticeable. However, occasionally they are audible justenough to know that they are ever so slightly off-key, and that makesthem unnecessary andoff-putting. Instrumental only would be preferred on those tracks,since the music itself is quite pleasing. Here and there, though, eventhat has its moments of what I like to call nails-on-a-chalkboardness,such as when the music is a bit too repetitive with not enoughvariation. Switching to the other section earlier would have savedthese tracks for me, but as it stands I would more than likely skipthem on repeat listens. These are minor complaints on an otherwisewell-rounded debut, however, as Orlygsson has all the other bases morethan covered. Memorable melodies, a good mix of instruments, peaks andvalleys, and the incorporation of varied rhythms and styles make this adebut full of things to like. There is room for improvement, but that'sall in good time; for now, there's plenty more present to make up forit.
