Benni Hemm Hemm Shares In-Studio Acoustic Performance

Enjoy 'Sweaty In The Sunshine' below. Learn more about the Icelandic artist here.


MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Whaling In The North Atlantic

Benni Hemm Hemm Unveils New LP

With the good comes the bad...

Murta St. Calunga is only available in Iceland. Sigh.

Download the first single from the album at bottom.

Visit Benni Hemm Hemm on MySpace.

Read my review of BHH in NYC here.

MP3: BHH - Whaling In The North Atlantic

Benni Hemm Hemm Performs For The Take Away Show

Keeping up with La Blogotheque's tradition of featuring breakthrough & up-and-coming artists performing in a series of random locations, check out the clip below to see the Icelandic troupe, Benni Hemm Hemm, tackle 'Brekkan' in a vacant Paris plaza in the wee hours of the morning. Learn more about the special performance, filmed earlier this year, and catch another video here at La Blogotheque's Take Away Show. Benni Hemm Hemm will wrap up their premiere North American tour on July 28th at Union Hall. Read my review of their first-ever US gig at Mercury Lounge here.

MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Brekkan

Benni Hemm Hemm @ Mercury Lounge: Greetings

'That song was about snow and light, this next one is about hills'. Not your typical between-song stage banter, in the slightest. Last night marked (Iceland's own) Benni Hemm Hemm's first show this side of The Atlantic. And they were irrefutably glorious.

I've read that Benni Hemm Hemm's concerts can run the gamut between eleven and seventeen total members. At last night's gig, there were ten men on stage - 5 with varying brass instruments, one electric guitarist, one bassist, one drummer, one frontman with an acoustic guitar and one xylophonist with a few tricks up his sleeve (a la the triangle, a flute, an ultra-mini set of keys and a tambourine).

The band's 45-minute, 9-song set sounded like a crowded house party with all members of the following acts in attendance: Beirut, Sigur Ros, The New York Philharmonic, Sufjan Stevens, Stephin Merritt & Spiritualized. As you can imagine, the music was consummate, loud, triumphant and radiant all the same. I wanted the troupe to play into the wee hours.



Learn more about Benni Hemm Hemm (including a full list of each band member & English lyric translations!) here on the band's official site. Check out a stellar BHH MP3 below.

MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Skvavars

Benni Hemm Hemm's First-Ever US Shows Begin Tonight!

In case you missed my rant on the band last month, here's a link to it again. Iceland's latest import has been digesting a healthy amount of plays on my iPod as of late, just in time for their first round of US shows.

Learn more about BHH and hear some select tunes over at their MySpace page. We highly recommend your attendance at one of the following shows:

*July 05 New York, NY Mercury Lounge*
July 06 Boston, MA Middle East
July 09 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
July 10 Minneapolis, MN 7th St. Entry
July 13 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
July 16 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
July 17 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
July 18 Phoenix, AZ Paperheart
July 20 Austin, TX Emo’s
July 21 Houston, TX Proletariat
July 25 Wilmington, NC Bella Festa
July 26 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel
July 27 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s

MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Brekkan

Who The Hell Is Benni Hemm Hemm?

The latest Icelandic import, Benni Hemm Hemm, is an orchestral pop outfit that The Music Slut has slowly but surely fallen in love with over the course of the last few weeks.

Equal parts Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros and Beirut, Benni Hemm Hemm's sound is undeniably rich, epic, and beautiful. Take a listen to a BHH track below and dare to tell us you disagree!

The band will embark on their first ever US tour this coming July. All dates here on their MySpace page. We can't wait!

MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Snjorjljossnjor