Icelandic band Andvaka waited three years before giving a follow-up to their beautiful long-distance debut entitled Andvana. While it is true that the chosen format, that of an ep, may seem a little concise in light of the time elapsed between the two releases, it must be said that the two long tracks on Sólin Hylur are nonetheless satisfying in terms of the quality expressed: the first, the title track, holds more firmly to the stylistic connotations of the recent past, namely a funeral doom with a development characterised by a suffused and airy progression with poignant melodic openings, while the following, ॐ (Om), appears more iridescent, especially in a second part in which post-metal nuances and an insistent yet tenuous and convincing guitar work make their way through. Sólin Hylur is a work full of a spirituality that is neither obvious nor cheap, in which the mysterious ensemble from Reykjavík exhibits a clarity of purpose supported by first-rate compositional talent in the service of a funeral doom of rare depth; for this reason, too, Andvaka‘s return to the full length is highly desirable.

2022 – Independent