bing bong borko

Borko are a 7-strong band from Reykjavik Iceland (the project of Björn Kristjánsson). Celebrating Life, their most recent output, does just that. They are however, a bit silly too, on their myspace they claim they are ”co-writer of many famous songs. For example: Last Christmas, Knowing Me Knowing You and Suicide is Painless (the theme from Ghostbusters)”. The track titles include such daft titles (and lyrics to match) as “Ding Dong Kingdom” and (even better I think) “Doo Doo Doo”. However, despite the playfulness, there’s a seriousness in their sound.

The music is rusted with post-rock cymbal-heavy percussion and brass, which augments the glowing aural doodles and repeated harmonies. There are bits of messy programming and lilting melodies that smoulder like embers; dynamic and a little rough at the edges. There’s a hint of something like the playfulness of Animal Collective and some Mum in their shining innocence, but not much of either, a passing remark in “Hondo & Borko” and some looped vocals in “Spoonstabber”. The bulk is something much more mellow and quietly, intensely, euphoric.

Borko - Hondo & Borko

“Continental Love” builds high to a joyous apex, not breathing until the peak has hit. It reaches it’s crescendo four and a half minutes in, with percusssion crashing like waves on a shoreline in fading half-light. Repeated wordless vocals continue to intensify little by little, and horns come in somewhere near the back adding oomph and majesty.

Borko - Continental Love

The rest of the album is great too, you should buy it. Borko are appropriately signed to the wonderful Morr Music, a label which led me to lots of the music I like now. It is, I believe, a label of better music for people who like the Postal Service.  (But lets not start a row now). They also release on a great new Icelandic label called Kimi (which means corner). Checkitout.