An Icelandic musician with a penchant for rustic, progressive rock that journey’s deep into the heart and soul of his audience, Weekendson has marked himself as one of the most charming and inspiring talents we’ve come across in recent years. After releasing his eponymous debut album last year, Weekendson has rightly become one of the most anticipated Icelandic talents, and so when he released a new track over the Christmas holidays, there was cause to celebrate.
An instrumental piece that he described as a “Christmas present to myself”, ‘The Blurry Brain’ is his first instrumental piece, and arguably his most introspective composition to date. Charting Weekendson’s personal journey through depression and turmoil, ‘The Blurry Brain’ reflects his feelings at the time, brilliantly echoing his own sentiments, “I always felt like my brain was blurry and that I had no control over it."
At nearly five-minutes in length, ‘The Blurry Brain’ arrives as an unfolding saga of technical ability and songwriting nous, authentically charting the emotional journey of a depression sufferer. Soaked in reverberating waves of distortion and built upon a glistening progressive rock core, ‘The Blurry Brain’ builds through a constant rhythmic melee to produce some of the finest guitar work you’ll hear this year. It’s an unstoppable sound, one that grabs you and doesn’t let go, pulling you deeper into the mix until eventually the music fades and you’re met with a lingering stream of static, ending the piece with a profound and deafening sound.
Like Virgil leading Dante through to paradise, Weekendson takes his listeners on an evolutionary journey through his experience, starting with staggered melodic waves that leads into a defiant stream of industrial overtones that dance through dark atmospherics. As the static fades, Weekendson rises from the heavy torrent of sounds, triumphant and battle-weary, and with every listener absolutely hooked.
A far more visceral and forceful sound than anything we heard on his debut record, ‘The Blurry Brain’ is an undisputed triumph of Icelandic rock from one of the country’s growing musical treasures.
Score: 9/10
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