Dirty Paper Cup

Quirky pop tunes:
Icelandic princess Hafdis Huld Thrastardottir was the voice behind some great hit Techno/trip hop songs by Gus Gus and FC Kahuna and now that she's done with those projects she gets to show us some magical and otherworldly solo songs here on her new album. This album isn't techno though, so if you expected something like that, stay clear. "Dirty paper cup" is filled with simple catchy unplugged songs, played on guitar, banjo (it never sounded this good) and some sparse keyboards, infused with LOTS of quirky humor. Some of you might have seen her funny "Tomoko" video on Youtube, or Ski Jumper so you might know what i mean here. These songsare not meant for deep contemplation or to solve the world's problems, but rather, they express everyday life's stories from a brutally honest perspective infused with humorous observations about somewhat disfunctional & ordinary situations. I'll focus on some of the highlight songs. "Ski Jumper" blurs the lines of the subject, she could be talking about ski jumping or a ski jumper (sweater), no matter what though she just doesn't want to be pushed down and just hang around a little longer (sometimes you just are not ready for a big ski jump). On "Tomoko", Hafdis talks about a popular friend whose shoes "used to be a crocodile" and who is really "hard to hang out with" cause she's so perfect and "never broke like you" which can be quite irritating but oh well "there's nothing you can do"... "Plastic Halo" which is one of my top favorite tunes from this album can catch you by surprise. It's such a beautiful melodic song, sung lowly, sweetly with clongerspiel and a sunny guitar rhythm, but pay attention to the lyrics and you'll get the angst and the real meaning of the song. It's about being left out in the cold, while you offer love and get nothing back from someone who only appears to be angelic but really hurts us, so we get the quirky nasty refrain "I hope you choke in your plastic halo" in the end (beware of a woman scorned). "Happy Ever After" is a half spoken song, about a chance meeting in a park. Sharing a blanket Hafdis daydreams and thinks "we could live happily ever after" with this guy she just met and gives her number to on a dirty paper cup. She says "you smell like honey, i really like honey, not as much as vanilla though", it sounds very innocent, very heartfelt and very honest. "Who loves the sun" is a Lou Reed cover that would probalby go unrecognizable in all it's acoustic/banjo glory here, but it fits very nicely in this album since it's another abstract and humorous song. So i recommend this CD, for its very fresh perspective, the relaxing singing and of course the delicious humor that it is infused with.

Silly and serious lyrics wrapped in folk:
I've absolutely fallen in love with Hafdis Huld. She manages to make both mundane and serious life subjects sound silly yet poignant. The folk sounds and her whispy yet strong voice create a very laid-back yet effective sound. Favorites of mine include the fun "Tomoko", "F#$#ed Up Mind", funny "Plastic Halo" and the beautiful and melodic "Who loves the Sun". I STRONGLY recommend listening to 4 full samples off the disc at \o...\c . I can't recommend this disc enough.