T-t-t-trust me

Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán, or UMTbS, are crazy. Hyperactive. Their music often reminds me of old school video game sound effects--and I'm pretty sure that's deliberate, as they've mentioned "levels" in their songs and have incorporated processed voices that sound like they've come straight out of those old arcade style games sitting in the restaurant near you that hasn't been willing to shell out for the latest pinball machine. But let's back up for a second. UMTbS are from Iceland, where apparently they've been pretty divisive (though, not being there, I couldn't really fill in many details about it). I know I said they're crazy, but their lead singer, Sigurður Ásgeir Olsen, is especially and completely bonkers. The band tends to dress up in bizarre costumes and they have a predilection for yelpy vocals. I don't know that I can every truly fall head-over-heels, oh-my-gosh-I-worship-them in love with them--the vocal part of their music is just too left-field for me--but I can quite easily imagine myself dancing away to their music at a party. And when the beats are as bright, as catchy as they are in "Story Of A Star," it's hard not to be taken with them.

Story Of A Star

Contrary to what you might think from the first minute, it's not an all instrumental song, but that instrumental opening is one of the most exciting bits of music I've heard this year; for that first minute alone, the song would be worth sharing.

To buy Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán's single "Story Of A Star," go here (digital). You can visit their MySpace to hear more songs by them.

By the way, I used the above picture partly because it does a good job of conveying the lead singer, but mainly because I wanted to attempt to at least slightly conceal something until people listened to the music (though I think it's still obvious even there): how young the band is. Apparently all the members are between 16 and 19, with the lead singer himself only being 16 being 19. Word is, though, that despite what I would have guessed based on this performance (doesn't the music seem sort of out of synch?), they are fantastic live (which fits well with the spastic nature of their music--I bet they're live performances are full of energy).

Next up: maybe a Swedish duo.

(Edit: forgot to mention--is it just me, or does the picture have him looking Soft Cell/Marc Almond-esque?)