This Is Normal [ENHANCED CD]
The glue that sealed the disparate parts of 1997'sPolydistortionis considerably less binding on Gus Gus's second album.This Is Normalcomes on like a mix tape of dreamy digitalia, deceptively flip Europop, and jazzy house tracks. Iceland's favorite nine-member arts collective is no doubt digging the confusion. Of the album's 11 tracks, 8 are commandeered by Daniel Agust's wondrous voice, which is boyishly strident and ethereal by turns. On "Ladyshave," theKula Shaker-esque single, he enacts a seduction scene, enticing a lover (himself?) into the shower, only to lose his identity in the process. The succinct vocals of "Bambi" carefully twin the song's chamber-pop reserve, creating an impression of sublime ardency in the process. In comparison, the three cuts sung by Hafdis Huld are less immersing, but the trip-hop soundscapes of "Teenage Sensation" and "Blue Mug" provide a lush framework for her elegant phrasings. For the band's more dance-oriented fan base, "Very Important People" has the sheen of a sun-splashedFunky Green Dogstrack. The album's inevitable remixes should kick its remarkable, if somewhat buried, grooves to the fore. Gus Gus is a complex, contradictory project. At its best,This Is Normalgives a glimpse of the blue flame locked inside its glossy northern soul.--Steve Lafreniere