2005-10-25T18:18:00.000-01:00

ODD-MEN-OUT MAKE THE NIGHT
Saturday night at Grand Rokk featured a load of home-grown metal acts, all whom showed off their impressive chops and skull-rattling riffs but ultimately served to set the stage for hometown heroes ÆLA, who were both the odd-band-out and a satisfying surprise for the handful of out-of-towners in the audience.[...]
[...] ÆLA were clearly the evenings main attraction, and for a good reason. They came on like an Icelandic version of the Minutemen, with the tuxedo-clad singer climbed on tables and yelped over warped jazz grooves, rubbery punk-funk and spidery guitar flourishes. One song kicked off with an eerie minor key groove that could have been featured in some ´60s spy movie, morphed into a cracked country shuffle, then back again, all in less then 90 seconds. Many of ÆLA´s very short songs felt like dadaist anthems - but between their nuanced arthouse stomp and the singer´s cracked David Byrne declamation, they were a hoot and a half.
-Christian Hoard for Grapevine Airwaves Daily, Sunday, october 23. 2005

Aela (means "puke" just so you know) is an art punk band from Keflavík renowed for wild live shows, characterized by the vocalist´s extraordinary use of chair while performing on stage.
-Iceland Airwaves 2005 festival guide.

“The name of this Keflavik pop punk band means literally "to vomit". There are several things peculiar about this band despite their bilious name. For example, the singer is very tall and tends to play guitar solos while standing on a chair. Æla (I La) is sometimes reminiscent of the early 80´s punk band, Purrkur Pillnikk. Like Purrkur, Æla´s off-kilter blink-and miss-it songs go of like a firecracker. Their set at Airwaves will give a chance to see Iceland´s peculiar brand of punk rock up close and personal.”
-AlexMcNeil & Mr. Destiny for Iceland Airwaves 2004 festival guide.

“If you liked Purrkur Pillnikk—Of Rokk í Reykjavík fame-- you should check Æla (puke) out. They are lead by Halli Valli who some say is even cooler then Einar Örn. They play terribly happy punk and show their happiness on stage when they, instead of sitting, stand on the chairs and/or throw them off the stage.”
-Reykjavík Grapevine. Issue 8. page 41. jun 24 – jul 7. 2005

Æla (vómito), un grupo cuya música es sobre todo bajo la influencia del punk islandés de los '80, grupos cómo p.ej. Purrkur Pilnikk y Þeyr. También se puede vincular su música con la de grupos cómo Shellac y Les Savy Fav. Pero eso es punk islandes puro y duro, y las letras son buenísimas (y, lo siento, en islandés). Y son locos en concierto.
Æla - Jólalöggan (el policia de navidades)

-Christian Hoard is a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone. He has also written for The Village Voice, Blender, Spin, and The Boston Globe.

Stuff on Aela