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Friday Full-Length: Sólstafir, Ótta

Sólstafir, Ótta (2014)

Please note: For visual continuity with other Friday Full-Length posts, I’m using the YouTube post of the record, but the band also has it up on Bandcamp here, where it is available for stream and purchase.

I don’t usually like to close out a given week with something so recent, but after just really giving Sólstafir‘s Ótta album a shot the other day for the first time, I couldn’t really not. The Icelandic post-black metallers’ fifth full-length, it came out at the end of August on Season of Mist, and for somebody like me who’s always been a fan of Alternative 4-era Anathema, it plays off some of the same kind of melancholy well. It’s an undertaking at nearly 80 minutes — this version seems to have a couple bonus tracks — but worth the effort and though I’m late to the party, it’s one I’m glad I didn’t miss entirely before the year ended. I’ll probably have more in the next couple weeks, maybe a writeup with a radio add or something, just to basically get something in about it before too long as passed. But yeah, oof that’s good.

It’s Fall now, leaves changing and the dark getting earlier and the air getting colder, so something like this sits well with the season. And Sólstafir play to that cohesively, from the windswept cover art to the chill in the songs themselves. I’m only just really getting to know it, but I look forward to digging deeper into the songs. It made sense to me to close the week with it, both because it made such a strong impression when I posted that Roadburn update yesterday and in case maybe you hadn’t had the chance yet to check it out. Either way, of course I hope you enjoy listening.

In Jersey this weekend with The Patient Mrs. to see family. The lack of posts today is owed to the fact that what part of the day we didn’t spend on the road, we were sitting with my 99-year-old grandmother. That basically took priority on the day. It’s been a minute at this point since the last time I was down here — I popped into NYC from Connecticut to catch Uncle Acid a couple weeks ago, true, but drove back to CT that night, didn’t get into Jersey at all — and it’s good to see everybody. I’ve had a cold the last couple days, but I took some DayQuil and toughed it out because I have neither the energy nor the money to make this trip as often as I’d like, and I need to get it in while I can.

That could mean I’m starting next week at a deficit, but aside from being way, way behind on emails, I don’t think it matters. Tomorrow night is a big family dinner with my family and The Patient Mrs.‘ mother, who’s her only family around here at this point, so that will be good and maybe Sunday I’ll catch up a bit on email if I have the brainpower for it. Sometimes I even manage to put the computer down and not do stuff. It happens rarely, but on occasion.

Streams next week for Weed is Weed and Vodun. Reviews of The Asound and Alunah and probably one or two other bands who may or may not start with the letter ‘a.’ Maybe Monster Magnet. That’d be fun. Need to do a tape too. They’re starting to stack up.

For now though, sleep. Wherever you are and however good the pizza is there, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Be well, enjoy, and we’ll see you back here Monday.

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