I caught this Icelandic singer/songwriter live in Copenhagen some months back and was really impressed by his intense presence on stage. With his characteristic, bright voice and melancholic songs he handed out goosebumps to a sold out venue, only to bring everybody back to earth with his very dry and understated humor in between songs. A feat Helgi Hrafn Jónsson repeats on ‘For The Rest Of My Childhood’ (minus the fun bits, though).

The majority of the 10 songs are low-key and insanely moving in a Sunday-morning-and-nobody-loves-me kinda way, but without getting all whiny (surprisingly upbeat gem ‘Digging Up A Tree’, which could’ve been done by his Faroese colleague Hogni Lisberg, the only real exception). It’s haunting, intelligent pop with folkish elements, a little rock and well-dosed strings for maximum effect, with Jónsson’s passionate and varied vocal delivery a general highlight.

A renowned trombone player, used often by Sigur Rós among others, Helgi Hrafn Jónsson released his solo debut ‘Gloandi’ in 2005, and last year this second effort was released in Scandinavia with the rest of the world following earlier this year. I don’t know the first, but ‘For The Rest Of My Childhood’ really agrees with me. As it should with anyone looking for an album’s worth of melancholy, infinite sadness and great songs.

Genre: Pop
Who: Helgi Hrafn Jónsson
Album: For The Rest Of My Childhood
Label: Playground Music
Year: 2008/2009
Country: Iceland
Language: English/Icelandic
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Recommended tracks:
Ashes Away – September – Digging Up A Tree – Waltz – This Solitude – Dry Run – Soft Targets