“Ótta” is an old Icelandic appellation for the time frame from 3 to 6 am. It is also the title of the fifth studio album by the post-metal bandits, SÓLSTAFIR, released on August 29th, 2014, via Season of Mist. The song titles form a concept based on an old system of dividing the 24 hours of the day into eighth parts 3 hours each, with the album starting at midnight, the beginning of “Lágnætti” (”low night”) and ending with “Náttmál” (“Nighttime”). Considering the slow-burning emotions and highly cinematic flavor of the band’s signature sound, the album title couldn’t possibly be more appropriate. They say that 3 am is the hour of poets and other creatives and, in folklore, it is heavily associated with supernatural events, witches, demons, and ghosts – hence the nickname, “witching hour.” The CD booklet with its misty black-and-white landscape subtly hints at the cold and somewhat desolate feel of the music but, bewitchingly enough, it is also charged with lots of human warmth. The nuances are quite subtle as far as you could use such a word for an atmospheric post-metal offering that is basically a cross between SIGUR RÓS and ISIS. These slowly uncoiling emotional crescendos are definitely worth paying attention to. Thus, I would highly recommend putting on your headphones in order to enjoy this album rather than heading down the highway with your car stereos blasting at full volume. That said, this kind of music would provide nothing short of a haunting soundtrack for driving down the dark desert highway in the small hours of the night, probably between 3 am and 6 am. There’s something almost meditative about this album – that is, if you don’t mind the occasional screaming and the wall of distortion.
Opening the album, “Lágnætti,” the title of which is Icelandic for “low night,” sets the tone for this musical journey with a dialogue of piano and post-rockish guitars that recalls, in passing, even NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS. In the music video, vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason plays a burning piano on a gloomy beach and sings, as far as I could reckon, about death. As a Finn, I can totally relate to this vibe – Nordic existentialism at its best! Plus, you can never really have too much of burning pianos!
We used to have a lot of Finnish bands, even in the mainstream, advocating for this sort of cold and desolate rock aesthetic in the 1990s before the success of Nokia turned us all into soulless materialists. Unsurprisingly, upon exposing my delicate ears to the fine music of SÓLSTAFIR for the first time with this album I became a huge fan immediately. The song in question was the title track, “Ótta.” There is something utterly magical and other-worldly in the combination of the slow-burning post-rock guitar legatos and the song’s repeating banjo ostinato. In the middle of the song, there is a 2-minute ambient section that is apt to give you goosebumps. This music with its big, panoramic emotions works wonders, especially with the music video that is comprised mostly of the somewhat alien, widescreen landscapes of Iceland. I would reckon this music resonates particularly strongly with people who have pagan blood in their veins. It feels like returning home in the crack of dawn after a long night of whatever battles one has waged in the inner or outer world – hence the title, “Ótta” (“Dawn”).
The slow-burning sonic mesmerism continues in the next couple of tracks – “Rismál” and “Dagmál” – almost as though deliberately trying to lull the listener into a trance-like state. The fifth track, “Miðdegi,” is the first heavy-rocker that explicitly hints at the band’s metal roots. It stretches to an almost NEUROSIS-like sonic realm. Sure, the atmosphere is pretty heavy right from the get-go but not necessarily in the most obvious heavy-metal fashion. Perhaps “poignant” would be a better choice for a word. The music sounds crushing without chugging those power chords at a break-neck pace. In this respect, SÓLSTAFIR is a kindred spirit to bands such as ANATHEMA. Speaking of which, “Nón” subtly resonates with the lovely air of those early Cavanagh brothers’ endeavors.
On a closer look and taken as a whole, this album seems to apply the tried-and-true post-rock approach of building momentum from a whisper to a scream not only in the individual tracks but over the course of the album as well. The sonic journey begins with the somewhat softer, yet poignant atmosphere of the first few tracks, becoming more tense with each new track toward the middle; then, takes a U-turn back to the more mellow realms in the closer, “Náttmál.” At face value, “Ótta” is a remarkably less raw-sounding affair than its predecessor, the epic 2011 double album, “Svartir Sandar.” Still, with its somewhat softer and more atmospheric approach, it packs more emotional punch by tugging at your heartstrings with sonic pitchforks and torches like a Medieval peasant.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Lágnætti
- Ótta
- Rismál
- Dagmál
- Miðdegi
- Nón
- Miðaftann
- Náttmál
Lineup
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason – guitar, vocals, production
Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson – guitar
Svavar Austmann – bass
Guðmundur Óli Pálmason – drums
Label
Season of Mist
