Nearly a year and a half in the making, Iceland’s Silje Nes‘ gently enchanting new record Opticks, while once again home-recorded, dramatically upgrades the sound from her acclaimed 2008 debut, Ames Room. Intricately constructed, warm and brimming with melodic hooks, Opticks is a record full of wonder, unfurling a series of increasingly accessible and catchy little songs.
The opening track of Opticks, and our Jam of the Day, “The Grass Harp,” coyly invites listeners into a different world. The song’s many layers reveal themselves in a slow motion textural deluge as organic instrumentation, found sounds, and electronic patterns intertwine.
It’s more melodic and a little less experimental that what we’ve previously heard from Silje Nes but creates the same beautiful combination of sweet hooks and lush, intricate textural detail that frames her intimately recorded voice.
Download or play below. I highly recommend picking up the entire new album, though. You can do that here. It’s out now on the ever-strong Fat Cat label.