Low Roar Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Iceland is a wondrous country, known for dark, blustery, cryptic themes which apply to most every facet -- music, culture, scenery, etc. With the robust cornucopia of natural beauty and phenomena, you'd think that the populous would stretch from east to west, but no -- just over 300,000 people inhabit the entire island. A natural correlation with the art and county would be that a rugged, innately more solitary nature of life inspires artists with infinitely deep and eclectic sounds such as Sigur Ros and Bjork.

Iceland now lays claim to another phenomenal artist going by Low Roar, a project started by Ryan Karazija. It is something of an outlier to the Bjorks of the island, since he came first from San Francisco and cannot call Iceland his country of origin. Whether he was more shaped by the rugged countryside or the loneliness of the move is not important; one note of his melancholy Radiohead-esque music proves a hopeful future of the young Low Roar without a doubt.

Single "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is a beautifully tragic piece of work. Listen too hard and dark sides are apt to creep up, seemingly gutting a person from head to toe in a single, foul swoop. Ambient, minimal instrumentals accompany Karazija's anguished vocals philosophically stating "there's no wrong, there's no right / no, I ain't gonna be here too long, too long". Perfect, maybe even a little too perfect, for the reclusive nature of the impending fall/winter seasons lurking at our doorsteps. Best not to forget our Vitamin D supplements while spinning this album!

Low Roar is out November 1 on Tonequake Records. Check out more Low Roar on Ryan's SoundCloud here.