Blindfold - Faking Dreams

Blindfold is a London based 4-piece indie rock band created by the Icelandic composer Biggi Hilmarsson, also the creator of the amazing band Ampop. Although comparisons to bands such as Radiohead and Sigur Ros are unavoidable the best way to describe Blindfolds' sound is epic, ambient rock. Building up songs with slowly-progressing guitars and Tom York-esc vocals they create beautiful, haunting music.

Their new album, Faking Dreams, is already winning praise in the UK press but is having trouble finding a foothold with American audiences. It's hard to understand why when you listen to the fantastic tracks "Faking Dreams" or "Don't Think It's A Sin". The instrumental track "Wait", which begins slow and builds up to an array of guitar-plucking ambiance, is a great indicator of the immense talent this band contains.

If Faking Dreams sounds like your kind of drug I would highly recommend Hilmarssons' other music project Ampop. The name of the band is a fusion of ambient and pop which perfectly describes the sound of this Icelandic three man group. Their last album, Sail to the moon, came out way back in 2006 but has only improved with age as far as I'm concerned.

While their earlier music leaned toward an electronic/systhesiser sound, the piano plays a important role in their later albums and the tracks tend to have more of a classical feel. Keep an ear out for the songs "Two Directions" and "Spring", both are great examples of this bands ability to blend rich orchestrations with finely-crafted pop numbers. My personal favorite song is "Youth", on the album My Delusions, which is just as good as anything I've heard from their Icelandic neighbors Sigur Ros.

http://www.myspace.com/theblindfold
http://www.myspace.com/ampopband