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Over the years, rock and metal has taken on innumerable forms and spawned countless subgenres. The frenetic math rock of SLINT feels a far cry from the piano-led rock anthems of BILLY JOEL, for example, and yet the two are inextricably linked through the intricate tapestry of musical evolution and innovation. Enter ISBJÖRG, a Danish collective that has found a way to fuse these disparate elements into “piano-driven progressive math-stadium rock” anthems. They have already shown how well this can work having put out their debut album Iridescent in 2019. But now they’re back for ISBJÖRG 2.0.
“This definitely feels like our most ambitious and exciting era yet,” posits guitarist Lasse Gitz Thingholm. The past few years have brought about great change for the band, who took on a new lead singer in Jonathan Kjærulff Jensen, capping a series of swaps and shuffles with their ranks. “A new lead singer means a big change to the sound, image and overall expression. Today we are a group of six people with very different musical preferences. It varies from death to punk, jazz, folk and musicals, which we think is also reflected in our music.”
But before we look into all that the future holds, let’s delve into the past. How exactly did ISBJÖRG become ISBJÖRG? “The majority of us met back in the early 2010’s in high school where music as a shared interest connected us” says Lasse. “The name ISBJÖRG was actually discussed as a band name from the early days of making the band. It is the name of Frederik [Ølund Uglebjerg, drummer]’s Icelandic girlfriend at the time, and even though we came up with a bunch of other suggestions we kept coming back to ISBJÖRG which we thought had a grand and alternative sound. The only bad thing about the name is that people simply cannot – or will not – write or say it correctly. Time and time again we find it written Isbjørk or Isbjörk or Isbjørn [which is polar bear in Danish].”
“In 2015, after three of us had moved to Aarhus, we formed the band with the goal to make original music that was unlike anything we heard before. All of us were into the progressive music genre and we have a lot of preferences but especially the band AGENT FRESCO connected us. They have a unique sound that we were truly inspired by.” That inspiration allowed them to flourish in less-than-traditional means for their genre, as well. “Since two of our original members both played piano and very little guitar, it was natural to compose the ideas on the piano, and it was a no-brainer that the piano would be a central part of our sound.”
Such a unique choice served them well on their debut outing – 2019’s Iridescent was well received by fans and critics alike and set the scene for modern prog’s new frontier. With comparisons to the likes of PORCUPINE TREE, ANATHEMA and MUSE being bandied about, there were lofty, grandiose and showy expectations to be met. But with the release of their brand new single Ornament, the band is stripping things back slightly. “Contrary to some of our older material, Ornament is written from a principle that “less is more”. It has a good straight forward pop feeling and the vocals have more of a musical theater kind of sound. We chose this song as the first single from the album, because we think that the song captures a lot of the overall musical expressions of the album.”
As for that album, well there are no concrete plans for release just yet, but that’s not to say that ISBJÖRG are taking it easy. Far from it, in fact. “We have major plans for 2023! First and foremost we plan to release several singles from the album throughout the year. We plan to release a couple of live sessions and we of course plan to play a bunch of concerts! Since the progressive rock community is not huge in Denmark, it is a major goal for the band to play abroad, and we would really like to play in Germany, UK, Sweden etc. If it’s not happening in 2023 it definitely will in 2024!”
And so, with that tantalising prospect, we must simply wait. Wait for the stars to align, wait for album details to be hashed out and wait for a tour to be announced. But if Ornament is anything to go by, ISBJÖRG‘s next steps will be well worth the wait.
Ornament is out now via self-release.
Like ISBJÖRG on Facebook.
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