Endless Summer is the third studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Sóley released in 2017 through Morr Music.
Background Endless Summer took a more "optimistic" direction compared to Sóley's first two studio albums We Sink (2011) and Ask the Deep (2015). The album took inspiration from a note that Sóley wrote down when she woke up one night in January 2016, which said "Write about hope and spring". After touring Ask the Deep for a year, she felt that the project was too "heavy" and wanted to take a "u-turn" with the next album. Sóley bought a grand piano specially for this album. She felt concerned that she was becoming typecast with the sound of her previous albums, realizing that she "only made dark music in minor keys" and could now "also use major chords".
The album's opening song "Úa" is named after Sóley's daughter.
Reception
The album received a positive review from Marcy Donelson writing for AllMusic. Donelson contrasted the album's "more whimsical tone and piano-centric palette" to the "contemplative, overcast chamber electro-pop" of Sóley's first two albums. The opening song "Úa" was highlighted as an "intimate piece, full of sweetness and dissonance" which "incorporates twinkling mallet percussion, horns, strings, and howling vocals in turn, with the overall effect of an off-kilter nursery rhyme". Donelson compared some parts of the album to the work of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals in terms of "palette and technique", and the "similarly fantastical charm and discreet volume".
In a review for the magazine The Line of Best Fit, James Appleyard gave the album a score of 8 out of 10. He described Endless Summer as "the bright yin to the dark yang of its predecessor". He noted the opening song "Úa" showcased "Sóley's classically trained skills as a pianist, as well as her natural ear for a solid pop melody". The songs "Never Cry Moon" and "Grow" were described as the "centrepiece" of the album, working together as a "miniature orchestral suite that echo back at one another".
Writing for Paste, Max Freedman described the album as "vivid, bright, and resplendent" compared to her earlier work, as well as "more fleshed out and beautifully arranged compared to the crushing simplicity of Sóley's previous work".
The album was described as "flawless" in a SLUG magazine review by Alex Vermillion, who felt that it captured "the icy, delicate atmosphere of her previous albums" despite the change of sound.
Track listing
Personnel Credits taken from album liner notes. Sóley Stefánsdóttir – Vocals, Piano, Organ, Marimba, Vibraphone, Accordion, Omnichord, Percussion, Electric Piano Albert Finnbogason – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Slide Guitar, Banjo, Synthesizer, Drums, Electric Piano Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir - Artwork Jón Óskar Jónsson – Drums Þórdís Gerður Jónsdóttir – Cello Rósa Guðrún Sveinsdóttir – Flute Sigrún Jónsdóttir – Clarinet Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir – Violin, Trombone
Release history Release dateFormatLabelID No.Ref.5 May 2017 CDMorr Music Morr 154-CD LP Morr 154-LP LP (Turquoise vinyl with Poster)
See also 2017 in Icelandic music
References