Ásgeir LIVE @ The Miller 30.10.13

Ásgeir walks through the crowd, band in tow, onto The Miller’s small stage. At the tender age of 21, the Icelandic number 1 has a distinguished hairline and the beginnings of a beard. The set begins with his older brother Þorsteinn, singing unaccompanied in Icelandic. Somehow I feel I won’t be needing a pair of earplugs which are on sale for £1 behind the bar.

The gig is sold out tonight and I’m surrounded by mesmerised die-hard fans. Eyes closed, pint glasses held tightly to their chests, they sway with smiles on their faces as he plays ‘Lupin Intrigue’ – a slow ambling song, which grows in depth and texture with each second, drawing comparisons to Bon Iver.

Originally written in Icelandic, his album has been translated into English with the help of John Grant who he supported on his European tour earlier this year. Tonight Ásgeir sings predominantly in English, though the two songs performed in his native tongue are immediately met with a cheering response from the crowd. There is a noted difference in the confidence of his voice throughout both of these which makes my ears prick up and pay attention. Ásgeir’s second to last song ‘Kings and Cross’ is a busy pop song where he sings in falsetto accompanied by whiny synths and catchy melodies. He finishes the set with his current single ‘Torrent’, a mixture of strong percussion and commanding piano, it falls clearly into the melodic-folk genre he’s been assigned to.

Ásgeir gives the impression of being exceedingly shy – silent between each song, head and eyes down constantly. Unfortunately it means that those of us who aren’t overly familiar with his music lose out on any connection with his performance. His band, on the other hand, are more than enthusiastic – his producer bops up and down behind him on keys and the drummer nods his head to the music. There is no doubt that they all take this music extremely seriously and are clearly very talented, but there is something lost in the performance whether it be from nerves, lack of confidence or not being comfortable with the English versions of the songs. That is not to say I don’t like the music, I do. Its intimate fragility conjures up visions of a snow covered Icelandic forest where you imagine him creating these sounds. The lyrics, mostly written by his 72 year old father, are very poetic and suit Asgeir’s gentle vocals, adding to the whole haunting tone of the music. As the set finishes, finally he looks up, politely says ‘Thank you for listening’ then walks off the stage and back into the crowd.