LIVE REVIEW: Norðanpaunk 2024
Ever stepped into another dimension and immediately felt at home? Well, I have.
(All pics by Estefânia Silva unless otherwise noted)
Go on, admit it - how many names do you know from the poster above? It’s okay if they’re not many, particularly if you’re not Icelandic or aren’t in frequent touch with that underground metal and punk scene - a “scene” which, by the way, in this particular country, is mostly a space refreshingly shared by those and many other subgenres without any kind of visible separation. On the contrary, there is an active collaboration, and even some musicians dabbling in various types of music that seem to treat each other as “opposites” in so many other places. But yeah, that unfamiliarity is a big part of the initial beauty of Norðanpaunk, as we had established before when we gave the festival an overall look as a sort of preview before it happened - going in, you know you’re going to discover something new, and while that may not be exactly the main reason many people go to events like this - and I understand that for some of you it’s even the opposite, you want to go see your established favourites and that’s fine - it is a huge plus for the more exploratory-minded among us. Especially as this organization has proved time and again that they do have a knack for knowing all the new and exciting stuff, so you can trust that the discoveries you’ll make will be largely positive. If you are indeed the sort that goes to a festival to listen to all your old favourites, well, unless you’re a middle-aged Icelandic punk, I’m afraid Norðanpaunk doesn’t have all that much for you, but since you’re reading this digital rag anyway, which doesn’t exactly cater to old favourites and household names all that much, it seems that you’re already on a good little path to open-mindedness, so why not take the plunge?
And it’s well worth it. Last time I wrote about this festival, I had never been there, despite my previous knowledge of the Icelandic underground, and after four glorious days spent in the enchantingly tiny town of Laugarbakki, I definitely fell in love with everything about it. After the drive from Reykjavik that only takes a couple hours - and for which you will always find a ride if you don’t feel like renting a car, as the festival even provides an online group (which works!) to connect people for that purpose - and already feeds you otherworldly beautiful scenery, the arrival is very peaceful. You visit the mandatory gas station/cafe/antique/second hand/general gathering spot that is Langafit for your wristband, a coffee and a pastry - and maybe, why not, a book, a wooly sweater, a decorative troll and a vintage sewing machine? -, and then your only option, besides staring at the ridiculously beautiful scenery, will really be the venue where the whole thing takes place.
It’s a community center kind of thing, sort of similar to other places we’ve visited in the country - namely the Egilsbud, where the old Eistnaflug used to happen - and it manages to concentrate both stages, the hangout and eating area, and even some guest rooms in the basement, all in one place, which makes it easier to always find what you’re looking for. You can camp at the calm and neat campsite, or you can try to find a room in one of the houses nearby, or even go all luxury to the hotel that is only a ten minute walk away. It might feel like a very remote place to go to, but with only a little previous planning everything works out smoothly, and the organization is unusually close and present to fix any problem you might find.
So even if you’re an awkward foreigner who doesn’t know almost anyone, you will feel the community spirit immediately. DIY isn’t just a pretty acronym to throw at things, in this case - here, you can see the approach and its results fully at work. The line between bands, crew and attendants is blurred beyond recognition. You may find the frontman of a main stage band handling the door, or discover the dude you talked to during some cool show happens to pick up bands from the airport. Feeling energetic and helpful yourself? There’s a to-do list by the door and if you want to go help out, you’ll be welcome too. The staff members are identified by a purple vest so they’re easy to find in case of urgent necessity, and the main people in the organisation are always present and always have a caring word to make sure you’re doing okay. The good vibes extend to the point that this, an underground punk-and-beyond festival where someone unfamiliar might only imagine a debauchery of drinks and drugs and mayhem taking place (and, you know, I’m not saying those things don’t exist there, it’s not a convent either), is literally the most family-friendly event I’ve ever visited. Some of the attendees (and staff!) bring their kids, and among other teenagers and very young adults, there were also at least three different children under five roaming the premises, having a blast and genuinely enjoying the music despite their tender age bopping their heads to the heavy tunes while duly protected with proper headphones.
I went to my first show at fifteen, and it was a big stadium show with Metallica. And unlike so many others, I didn’t have the obstacle of having a family that ever opposed me liking weird Satanic drug-music. Even so, I can’t imagine what it must be like to be this young and already being immersed in such an open-minded world of music and art and culture, and I wish more kids could experience that. So, massive kudos to this festival for creating a space that inspires things like this to happen. It’s not the only wonderful thing they create conditions for, either. The event is openly queer-friendly, and there’s even a harm reduction programme set in place so that it feels as safe a space as possible for everyone, and you can really feel and witness that warm bubble during the entire time you’re there. Furthermore, other forms of expression are greatly encouraged too - there is a permanent “art table” with material available so you can just sit and draw or paint if floor and chalk aren’t enough of a canvas for your needs, and the resulting works of art are then displayed on the door to the main stage.
And hey, maybe you’re feeling a little cramped in the gorgeous natural emptiness of Laugarbakki and wanna go spend a morning in the closest town of Hvammstangi and maybe visit the seal museum or splurge on a nice meal at a fancy restaurant? Just ask anyone wearing a purple vest and they’ll have a ride for you in five minutes.
The technical conditions for bands are also top notch. You could be forgiven for thinking that a DIY event set in a remote place where one of the stages looks like a living room would have a rudimentary, low-cost technical structure at best, but it’s actually the opposite. I’ve rarely heard so many different bands sound so amazing in such a short amount of time at a festival, both the techs and the gear available are splendid and definitely help the bands reach their full potential. It’s probably because of this, and everything that I said before, that despite its small size, Norðanpaunk has an unusual knack for attracting unlikely names that very rarely appear on stage. They’ve had the legendary Limp Wrist before, for example, not to mention that the very first Fluisteraars show happened on these grounds as well. This year, Tómas Ísdal’s elusive project Marghöfða Dýrið and the return of The Deathmetal Supersquad joined the list of unlikely names. I would venture that if Darkthrone ever play a live show again, I’d bet on Norðanpaunk to make it happen.
We then come to the bands, the big fat cherry on this tasty DIY cake. A fine selection, and the proof that in the case of Norðanpaunk, punk really is a state of mind. Of course there were several punk bands, strictly musically speaking, but there were also death, black and groove metal bands, noise rock, folk, electronic, noise, ambient or dream pop acts and just downright experimental weird shit. Whatever you’re into, you had something for you. And if you’re into honest, no-bullshit bands that approach their art as if it’s the one thing that comes from their guts that truly matters, well, then this is your crowd.
The environment seems to bring out stellar performances out of bands and the emotional intensity was always in the red. Of course some of them stood out more than others, and of course the choice of the ones that did is always debatable as I’m selecting them through my own personal filters, but I can genuinely say that there wasn’t one single solitary dud among the whole bill. After the jump, I will pick my own highlights from each of the days, so this doesn’t become a neverending list of two-line live reviews (this isn’t a print magazine!), and I’ll also leave you with some Bandcamp embeds so you can instantly sample some tunes, but I urge you to check out all the other names that I might have left out if you’re curious, as you won’t be disappointed. So, let’s dive in.
DAY 1 - highlights
Yeah, might be a little awkward that after praising the Icelandic underground, the first two standouts I pick from the first day are foreign bands, but that just highlights how freaking amazing they both were. It’s interesting to note how the lineup of each day isn’t just a pile of bands - there is a clear effort to create a line, a narrative, like having a sort of ambient act opening each day, never really repeating same-genre bands consecutively, relatively short sets for everyone, affording space for eating and catching a breather even if you want to watch every band… You know, actually thinking about the running order and not just throwing names at it randomly like some other events seem to do. No names here, but I’m sure you thought of a few when you read that. Oh, there’s also a big bonfire where people congregate at the end of the shows, and each night there is a makeshift performance there. I only managed to catch the end of a harrowing kvltgörn display unfortunately, but the atmosphere surely is unique at that time and place. Anyhow, here are some highlights of the first day:
Unru (DE)
It’s somehow appropriate that Germans Unru brought a similar kind of nature-inspired windswept devastation that the likes of Wolves In The Throne Room have mastered - with the sound at peak perfection, standing there with your eyes closed in the middle of the blackened whirlwind that is one of their songs, you could pretty much feel the arctic breeze in your face. That, or maybe someone just had left a window open. But not, it was really them. Add to that the crusty rawness and the Ash Borer-like crude malice these guys also mix in their sound, and you had a perfect mix of noble savagery and distant beauty. Plus, yet another example that black metal and punk really are sister genres with endless possibilities for mingling.
Oust (NL)
You might have known Oust from before. They play regularly around Europe and in their home country of the Netherlands, being from Nijmegen/Amsterdam with an Italian intruder who lives in Rome. You might even have heard the awesome ‘Never Trust A Politician’ EP. But trust me, you haven’t really heard Oust until you’ve seen them live. Vocalist Sanne is at the epicentre of it all. If you saw her calmly untangling the mic cable before the show, you would never guessed what was about to happen. One second into the first riff of the first song, and she’s off like a giant firecracker, leaving the stage basically never to return again until the end of the show, she dives into the audience, screaming in their faces, jumping around them, hugging a few women and playing with the kids in the audience - she’s wild, yeah, and even confrontational with the right people, but she knows exactly what she’s doing to whom -, going on top of tables, into the restrooms, all while screaming these unhinged grind/punk tunes, as much Trap Them as they are Agathocles, as Japanese hardcore as they are even death rock sometimes. Sanne is also eloquent and outspoken, and her short occasional speeches between songs are very welcome and to the point, addressing fascism, toxic masculinity and social inequality, introducing tunes with delightfully strong messages such as “I’d rather be a fuck up than a fascist” or the last song which features recipes to actually, literally, “eat the rich”. I say go for it, sounds tasty in every way. A nod to the other three guys who are nailing it on stage while she does her thing all over the place - this band isn’t a one-trick pony. The songs are thick and ragingly urgent, the riffs (courtesy of also GGGOLDDD guitarist Jaka Bolič) are throat-slicingly sharp and the fuzzy noise is constant throughout the whole show. Hey, it was so good that they played again on the smaller stage during the last day, due to popular demand. It was even wilder due to the more closed quarters environment, as you can imagine.
Drysildjöfull
So there I was, ready to go for a breath of fresh air after the chaos of Oust, maybe missing the first few minutes of the next band with the weird Icelandic name that I didn’t know, when passing through the “Hallway” aka the smaller stage (aka “the living room” as our inside joke remained throughout the weekend), when I glimpsed at the people on stage. And when I say people, I really mean a devil goblin, a ghost and a dude in a hat. After a while, you see, you develop a sense for these things, and something about this vision told me there might be something special happening here. And boy, special it was. I texted Estefânia, who was already outside, to come back in - also a good decision as she was able to snap these fine pics of them - and then the noise started. The goblin started shrieking creepily while launching some dungeon synth beats from a phone, the dude in the hat laid down some fine raw black metal riffage worthy of early vintage Darkthrone, and the ghost just stood there staring at us, which arguably had an effect as chilling as the music itself. In any case, Drysildjöfull were simply amazing, both with their deceptively simple but musically rich leftfield tunes and with the whole atmosphere created. If you’re into lo-fi black metal, dungeon synth or nasty early Skinny Puppy industrial, and if you’d prefer your favourite filthy music to be delivered with that fucking devil-may-care punk attitude, these guys are for you. They have three tapes out, two on Grime Stone Records and one on Iron Lung, and I heartily recommend you acquire all three now and just listen to the whole damn thing in one sitting. You may have just found your new favourite band, just like I did.
Barnaveiki
Kudos to Barnaveiki, who managed to still have some impact even after the most surprisingly awesome band of the festival. No ghosts and goblins here, just serious-looking (and quite familiar if you’re a fan of bands like Misþyrming, Svartidauði or Naðra - it is a bit of an Icelandic extreme metal supergroup), blood and black grease-covered dudes, laying down proper old-school Autopsian death metal, no more, and no less. The cavernous rumble of the sound alone is enough to twist your insides around, let alone if you get into song meanings and stuff. “Barnaveiki” is in fact the Icelandic word for “diphtheria”, so maybe we’ll leave it at that and your imagination fills in the rancid blanks.
GRÓA
It sucks that we weren’t able to take proper pics of GRÓA (the crowded chaos in the Hallway was already simply impossible to navigate through once we got there - before the show started, mind you!), so I’ll leave you with their awesome KEXP session so you’ll have an idea of how it was like. Imagine a rawer version of that in a dimly lit living room with 100 people jumping around in a space that would poorly fit 50, and you’re pretty much there. The energy these young women exhale on stage is simple staggering, and the Swans-like hypnotic repetition they employ in some of their songs is truly mind-bending. As simple (and not simplistic, mind you) and straight to-and-from the gut as their sound is, a good description isn’t easy to pinpoint. There’s angry noise rock, some quirky, experimental indie pop, but what matters is how exciting and fresh it sounds, and how instant the connection to the audience is. As soon as the trio launches into each song, the wave of exhilaration is instantly felt in the room. They’ve played outside of Iceland quite a bit and have been raising many eyebrows in the last few years, and it was absolutely clear why after this electrifying half-hour.
DAY 2 - highlights
Another very eclectic day, with ambient, noise (the sort of Whitehouse-ian confrontational noise of XARG deserves an honorary mention here), punk, black metal, art-pop, noise rock and pure wacko experimentation all poking their ugly heads out. When by the end of this day you realise you’ve seen close to 30 bands, you really are thankful that everything is so self-contained within a small area, and that there is actually the possibility to sit down during performances. Especially if you’re an ancient over-40 sack of bones like yours truly here. These were the ones that left a biggest dent on my brain during this long day:
Daudyflin
A parallel battle was being fought on these bloody Laugarbakki fields - the t-shirt battle! Soon as we got there, two bands were clearly ahead in the punters’ choice of merch garment: Börn and DM\SS, the second of which I shamelessly only realised who it referred to on the last day. As the hours went by, however, one name started to rise through the ranks to join, and possible even surpass, the leading ones - and that was Daudyflin. They made custom tie dye designs with the band’s logo and imagery, and to be honest, they really looked fantastic. So it was before a rising little sea of warriors dressed in their colours, literally, that they took to the stage, instantly making clear to us ignorant foreigners why were there so many so eager to proudly display their name across their clothes. They play an absolutely unstoppable, blindingly furious brand of punk, raw and unapologetic, led by the badass acid gargle of vocalist Alexandra. Yes, the guitar buzzsaw is rough enough to rip open a billionaire’s gut in two, and the incessant beating of the drums is super powerful, but it’s Alexandra’s expressive rage that really drives the band over the edge, as she shrieks and roars and laughs maniacally over the noisy din. Oh, and speaking of drums - the person mercilessly pounding the kit had a really suspicious aura about them, almost as if they moonlighted as a devil or a goblin in another band. You know, hypothetically. Just a feeling.
Norn
Norn was actually the band that was most familiar to me of the whole bill, and the only one I had seen live before, at the old Eistnaflug. They’ve been around for a while, their first demo dating back to 2010 already, and their brilliant debut ‘Börn: Vltima Permonvm Conea’ from 2015, an oddball piece of outsider, crusty black metal that remains absolutely uniquely fascinating to this day (as do the t-shirts they had back around that time that I keep mentioning because they’re the best ever, with the slogan “I’m so happy I could eat a baby”). That’s the only fault to be pointed at Norn, that their discographic register ends there, apart from a split in 2018 with Regnvm Animale. It doesn’t reflect a lack of inspiration, since their performance was as staggering as the memories we have of that record, perhaps even more so given the material they played that was unfamiliar to me, which hopefully will end up on a future release. Their unique personality is all over their brand of dissonant-sounding black metal, crusty and raw as it is but still full of recognisable melodies. There’s even a pleasingly epic, sort of rough Bathory viking-era touch to things now, more present than before, and frontman Árni’s voice is perfect for that style. Methinks it’s time to book a studio, gentlemen!
Börn
Despite my profound fascination for Drysildjöfull, in the grand scheme of things, Börn were probably the very best band of the whole weekend. Featuring three quarters of the Daudyflin lineup, Börn nevertheless sound totally different, including vocalist Alexandra, who managed to once again steal the show with a completely distinct approach. The best post-punk voice you will ever hear, she sort of half-sings, half-shouts, and the effect is breathtaking, equally strong and very melodic, which is perfect for the similar qualities that the instrumental part offers. Putting the punk in post-punk just like the angriest and rawest bands of the sort do, and I do mean legends like proper Rozz Williams-era Christian Death or even the more elaborate moments of Rudimentary Peni. See, I don’t throw around these comparisons lightly, but these people fully deserve them. The show was just like you’d expect after seeing their other bands (and yes, the drummer Fannar was the same devil-looking person as before, marking their third… ahem, probably second performance of the festival, and more was to come), intense and furious and in your face, but the gruff elegance of the music and mind-breaking catchiness of the vocal melodies and riffs really take them to a whole new level. Don’t be surprised if someone like La Vida Es Un Mus, Dais Records or even The Flenser pick them up and turn them into superstars. My only surprise is that it hasn’t happened yet.
Brött Brekka
Brött Brekka’s show left me both super happy and very sad, though the latter was by no wrongdoing of their own, rather the opposite - I had a moment of melancholy when I thought I would really like to post a pic of these guys and tag Steve Albini in it saying “here’s the next band I’m going to pester until they go record with you!” It was pretty much the only thing that was missing at the festival, a proper noise rock power trio that seems to have been beamed straight from the golden 90s, kind of like an elaborate version of The Jesus Lizard with odder time signatures, or a sludgier sort of ‘Meantime’-era Helmet. They don’t keep it simple, which is probably where the tag “math rock” has come from on some descriptions of them that I’ve read, and though I personally think that’s going a bit too far, it does tell you of the level of musicianship on display here, which is totally put to use for bludgeoning purposes rather than any vain widdling. Great show!
Laxity (PL)
Laxity are from Poland, though vocalyst Borys apparently lives in Reykjavik, but wherever they’re from (their Bandcamp clarifies that “We live in a trashcan.”, so there), they like to fuck shit up. That really describes their show more perfectly than any other words would. They playing raw-as-fuck punk, their guitarist Signý stands in a corner throwing out riff after acidic riff, and Borys does his thing throwing himself against people and rubbing his delightful bare bottom all over the place while he shouts like a madman. It’s sweaty, it’s greasy, it’s furious, it’s noisy and it’s all over in less than 30 minutes. Fuck yeah.
DAY 3 - highlights
A day of goodbyes, once again with a lovely “intro” in the form of another ambient electronic act (a marvellous duo called a solemn promise), but otherwise following the same format as the others, with a couple of bigger names, veterans and young kids, all different genres, and a great vibe presiding until the very end. Let’s do this again next year, shall we?
Ólöf Rún
I’ll admit it, I was tickled as soon as I saw the theremin on stage, but even the presence of my favourite instrument doesn’t immediately turn everyone into The Night Terrors or something. And no, despite being pretty much alone with it on stage, Ólöf Rún didn’t use it in the way that I was expecting her to. She didn’t do anything that I could have expected, to be honest - I certainly did not expect to see a dreamier, folkier version of Weyes Blood completely rip my heart to pieces with songs that I had never heard before. Neither have you, by the way - this solo venture is still fully unreleased. It’s a new thing for Ólöf, a proper multitalented artist (I particularly like the second photo down there with her in front of the poster which she drew herself - do check out her website!) who is also a member of the wonderful Svartþoka. Who, by the way, will have to forgive me for being bumped off my five-a-day highlight list by Ólöf’s performance itself. Since she has no music publically available for her solo stuff yet, I’ll leave you with a Svartþoka single down there to make it up a little bit. But do keep her name in your mind. She has since told me an album is forthcoming, and she has been kind enough to send me a two-song demo. And dear friends, those two songs are as unbelievably awesome as her show at the festival was. If .wav files ever wear out, these two are on their last plays for me. Watch this space.
The Deathmetal Supersquad
First of all, as soon as The Deathmetal Supersquad got up on stage, my brain finally had a little spark and I realised who the DM\SS shirts were all about, of course. No, they are not a death metal band, as you might have gathered even without knowing them, and behind their tongue-in-cheek moniker lies one of the best melodic punk bands you probably never heard. Because if you have heard them, then you’ll agree already, right? Though it’s only natural if you haven’t - they were on a sort of hiatus and hadn’t been on stage for almost a decade. It didn’t show, though. As a power trio (with the devil-esque Fannar completing their full poker of appearances over the weekend once again on drums - a big round of applause to this display of artistic availability!), they were immediately on the money with their infectiously catchy songs. Sounding for all the world like the Icelandic Samiam, with a little bit of a Rancid edge thrown in for good measure, they just might become your new addiction. The crowd, with both young kids who probably never saw them before and veterans who knew every song by heart, mingled greatly and went appropriately crazy throughout. Great fun.
Marghöfða Dýrið
Possibly one of the shows that gathered the most anticipation, at least among the black metal crowd (if there is still such a thing with this fantastically mixed and eclectic audience), this project led by one of the central figures of the Icelandic underground, Tómas Ísdal of Misþyrming, Naðra, 0, Carpe Noctem, Grafir and others. Marghöfða Dýrið (meaning “the multiheaded beast”, a name taken from a 17th century curse lamenting the coming of the antichrist) is essentially a solo venture, creatively speaking, but on the rare occasions when it makes it to the stage, the gates of hell are opened and a little army of musicians pours forth. There were seven people on stage this time, including a violinist, and it’s within that contrast, of instrumental grandiloquence vs. deceptively minimalism of the songwriting, that the whole appeal of Marghöfða Dýrið resides. The sort of black metal they play is not revolutionary or completely new, but it’s the ample views created by the imagery the sounds evoke in your head that really set it apart. For the first and only time, we kinda wished that this was a bigger place - the band looked a little cramped up there, and even if the sound was spot on once more (must have been hell to mix all of these inputs into something coherent - kudos!), a bigger, louder PA would have made the whole experience more transcendent. On the other hand, this could be the perfect intimate setting to experience music like this, in a way. It’s like the Úlfsmessa was great when performed in the lofty halls of Roadburn back in the day, but those of us lucky to have experienced the terrifying first one in the abandoned factory of Neskaupstaður with like 50 other lost souls at most know that there was something more to that experience. I have a feeling this would translate better to a bigger setting, but the only way to be sure is to do it. So, big festivals, it’s up to you now.
madonna + child
When describing them on their social media, the festival said of madonna + child that they “are best described as if the twins from shining formed a band alongside their army of ghost rabbits and soot sprites”, and also that “they emerged somewhere from the darkest crevice of the earth in 2016 and have been appearing at mysterious locations in Iceland ever since.” Musically, they are said to sound like “Dreamy and mystical music fills the air, driven by elecronic beats and hypnotic piano melodies, while the sisters whisper spooky lullabies about broken hearts and satanic rituals.” I’m quoting all this because nothing I come up with will be a better or more appropriate description, and also to assure everyone that yes, this is exactly what their show sounds and feels like. Even having watched the girls set up their gear before the show, two perfectly normal girls going about their business, didn’t make it less chillier. If anything, it made it worse, as if the spirits of the evil twins had entered the bodies of those poor girls who had just been there plugging cables in and stuff. Their whispers and shrieks are absolutely horrifying over the ambient noise, and it’s a deeply, bone-shakingly uncomfortable time all the way through. Yikes.
TÆL (NO)
Norwegian trio TÆL wrapped up proceedings in the “living room”, and the chaos whipped up around them was so intense that we didn’t manage any usable pics either. Here’s a photo from their Instagram right in front of the venue to prove they were really there, then. The chaos wasn’t just because they were the last band of the festival on that stage, it’s their punked up powerviolence devastation that really did it. Among endless hilarious chit-chat - they really are very nice people! - they let out bursts of unbearable sonic violence and pretty much just level the place down leaving only a trail of tired, spent but smiling bodies in their wake. Powerviolence has always been a very specific and underpopulated genre, and it’s rare that a new band pops up that gets it really right. TÆL really do. And that’s quite enough for me. Couldn’t imagine a better way to wrap Norðanpaunk up, to be honest. See you guys next year, hopefully!
All pics by Estefânia Silva unless otherwise noted. She rocks.
Thank you to Árni, Ægir (both of them!), Ingo, Arnar, Sólrún, Bragi, Tómas, Fannar and everyone else I’m forgetting. You’re the best!