Review Text
Limited colored vinyl LP pressing. Ásgeir presents the new EP, The Sky Is Painted Gray Today. Four textured, original tracks, that have been long-gestating, were recorded for the most part in 2019 in Hljodriti and have been tweaked over the last few months. They mark something of a return to the artist's deep roots, working once again with his father on their poetic Icelandic lyrics, as well as enlisting the likes of John Grant and Pétur Ben for the translations, a writing relationship that worked to great effect on his debut. The collection encompasses his signature emotive delivery, delicate yet expansive folk, and intricate guitars. A more stripped-back approach was taken when putting these together, with a focus put on his singular vocal and the dexterous strumming of layered, warm acoustics. There's an understated potency to tracks like "Sister" and "Out On The Edge," a sense that even in their simplicity, we are in the presence of a master craftsman, humbly, at his best. It also includes the miraculous story "Sunday Drive," a lyrical retelling of a car accident Ásgeir experienced in his youth.
