Undir, Feilnotum

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This pair of Icelandic filmmakers turned techno artists are not likely to achieve the recognition of Bjork, or even of Sigur Ros. In fact, you could bet against it, because their music seems to avoid anything even vaguely warm and fuzzy. Nonetheless, this second recording from the duo (and the first with major distribution) demonstrates an uncommon degree of artistry and, like Bjork and Sigur Ros, a distinct, well-defined perspective.

Calling their sound "chilly", "frozen", "foreboding", and the like may be a gross oversimplification, but Einóma's music has an almost clinical precision. The cavernous yet crisp beats sometimes have the sound of calving icebergs, with combinations of faint, tinkling chimes, icy drones and electronic sighs suggesting frozen, wind-swept vistas populated with flickering entities not seen, but sensed.

This is IDM with the D(ance) frequently distilled out of the mix, and even when the beats are regular and steady, there's something about the music that doesn't exactly invite libidinous displays. Rather than showing some skin, you may want to wrap your parka around you a little more tightly and move closer to the fire. A few of the pieces on this CD are downright creepy, like "Brot", which consists of dissonant drones, muffled wails and a squeaky, electronic sound that could almost be taken for footsteps in dry snow.

Comparisons with Autechre are relevant to a degree, with the duo of Rob Brown and Sean Booth likewise pushing the electronic envelope as of late, evolving beyond IDM into a world of glitches and mysterious, inscrutable pulses designed for something other than "getting down." The two members of Einóma are in a much earlier stage of their career, but on the strength of this release, they are already headed resolutely for the uncharted frontiers.

The strength of the music of this CD is that it lets you just far enough in, and shows just enough of itself, that it becomes hard to ignore or dismiss. Fall asleep with this playing on the stereo, and unquiet dreams are almost guaranteed.