If there is something that Icelanders and the English have in common, it’s talking about the weather. Both countries have changeable weather, to say the least, so maybe that’s it. But its come to be a lazy form of small talk; not sure what to talk about? Talk about the weather.

Lay Low, now well established on the Icelandic music scene, surely didn’t mean to invoke this connotation with her latest album, Talking About The Weather, which certainly isn’t lazy or inarticulate.

Lay Low is actually singer/songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir. She has a distinctive, rich voice, and a penchant for blues or country style music. It’s this combination that makes her music stand out of the crowd.

The album opens with the eponymous ‘Talking about the Weather’; a slinky, sexy song, banishing all previous accusations of Lay Low being just another acoustic singer/songwriter. ‘I Would if I could’ has a deep south feel to it replete with twanging guitars. The pace slows for ‘In the dead of winter’ and ‘I remember’ both of which are slow an gentle, but not without merit. ‘One of those nights’ is Lay Low in mournful mode, whereas ‘Our Conversations’ sounds fresh, and just skips along like walking through autumn leaves.

‘I Don’t Mind’ is soft and soulful and must have sounded wonderful a her recent concert at Fríkirkjan, as the wind hurried around the old church, pushing the snow against the windows. Maybe this album is about the weather after all.

Originally published on Iceland Review online.