Overlooked Classics: Amiina- Puzzle (2011)

Puzzle from 2011 saw the genre blurring Icelandic band Amiina experiment and expand even more, having started out as an all -female string quartet in Reykjavik. They looked like some kind of mad fin de siecle inventors catapulted into the twenty first century on the front cover, which seems entirely apposite: vintage and contemporary coexisting. Nowadays, they’re probably better known as Sigur Ros’ string section, capable of making grown men weep in public. No bad thing.

The music box delicacy of ‘Over And Again ‘ which has little creaks and cracks audible, as though they are winding up odd instruments brought down from the loft, is present and correct as with earlier work, but tracks like the magnificent ‘Sicsak’ and ‘Mambo’ bring yet more fierce layers and textures to the sound. Yoko Ono ia a fan, selecting their music on the venerated radio show Desert island Discs.

This album is indeed an enigma, and all the better for it. What a masterpiece..Like a chocolate eclair, it’s best enjoyed occasionally, as it’s so special.