Ghostigital - Einar Örn

The story is well-known now. The Sugarcubes dissolved, and Björk became, well, Björk. But to which part of Iceland did the rest of the band scatter? In the days of Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!, Einar Orn was often yellow-carded by listeners for his Jar Jar Binks-like yammering on the microphone. It's this stigma that makes his solo debut so endearing. Einar is still "eccentric," as plenty of Ghostigital proves. But his chaotic stream of consciousness is ridden like a conduit of live power lines by the equally bananas beatmobile of producer Curver (Minus). Smatterings of dub, hip-hop, and cut'n'paste electronica whip by in a frenzy of art-damaged noise; ex-Jungle Brother Sensational stops in every few tracks with some wonderfully weird, yet entirely accessible raps. The same goes for Ghostigital in general. While comparisons to famous wackos like Legendary Pink Dots or even Kool Keith are valid, they don't help define the cheery oddness that makes this record so engaging. At first, a cut like "Bank" seems like an aural headache pill. "Where is my money?!" Einar yelps over broken beats. A few other Einars mutter background Icelandic, and the lack of both money and shoes is understood. But then there's a pause...."Oh! It's in my pocket!" a suddenly happy Einar says, and fuzzy techno starts burping as a hundred looped Einars begin thanking the teller in unison. It's funny, oddly funky, and completely crazy. The Sensational collabo "Strangely Shaped" sounds like -- and may be -- a backwards folk traditional flitting over East Coast hip-hop bump, "Thirsty Fly"'s claustrophobic IDM opens a door deep in its soul to exorcise the goofy Tom Waits parlor trick of "Drunk Piano," and "Mess Up" is all throbbing bass stutter and hysterical shouting. The latter is probably the only time on Ghostigital when that old, unnerving Einar rears up; most of the time, Curver, Sensational, and the man himself are getting off on keeping their united brand of weird in check and out of step inside the slivers of a Reykjavik minute. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide