AMIINA - Kurr

This Icelandic quartet gained quiet fame as the string players on albums by fellow countrymen Sigur Ros. Despite a long history with that group, Amiina had up until now only released a pair of EPs. Their debut full-length, Kurr, proves to be worth the wait. This album draws from a palette wider than that of your typical string quartet. In fact, the strings rarely assert themselves; the most obvious voices here are that of bells, water-drop keys, flute, horns, singing saw and classical guitar. The result is an ambient instrumental record which sits bewitchingly between eras: both modern and ancient.