Indriði Ingólfsson is a young Icelandic musician born of Reykjavik’s DIY punk scene. His heartening, intimate new solo album ding ding was released on May 18th 2018.

 

Rising into public awareness through the overdriven might of his guitar playing with Icelandic punk-hardcore kings Muck, as a solo artist Indridi has found his songwriting developing into sparse, tactile and magical territory. This newfound aesthetic of softly woven acoustic guitar, voice, and subtle arrangements began its path on his 2016 debut Makril, and now, through ding ding, is elevated to a deeply touching new level of melancholic and delicate expression. This new album bears a weight of poignancy and a raw depth, combined with a lyrical wit and a beautiful, uniquely off-balance unpredictability (sometimes we are given throat singing, sometimes Icelandic drug slang, sometimes theremin-led soundscapes).

 

ding ding marks an artist with the extraordinary ability to transport himself directly into the room with the listener. Indridi sings his soft confessionals so closely that the sheer joy of music making traverses ding ding’s planes of heartache and quietitude.

 

Much of this closeness extends from the heart-opening purity of Indridi’s desire for expression. ding ding covers “family matters, death, depression, love and substance abuse for the most part,” he writes. Many of his lyrics hit these themes head-on, intensely personal and intimate. Both uncompromising in their honesty and unflinching in their delivery.

Indridi has been described in print as “iconic, idiosyncratic.” ding ding is the album to cement this reputation.