Lay Low

Icelandic singer-songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir simply goes by the two syllable stage name Lay Low (@lovisalaylow). Though known for her unique voice, Lay Low surprisingly didn’t start singing until her twenties when the band she performed with needed a singer and couldn’t find one. A record label obtained a demo and, impressed with Lovísa’s vocals, she subsequently became Lay Low.
Lay Low’s voice is intriguing. It’s simple, soothing, sultry and sounds like it never goes above a whisper. The same goes for the music that accompanies her voice. It’s more folk than country and has some Americana at the heart of it. The combination of the right amount of 50’s and 60’s country twang and a bit of the blues in her songs makes Lay Low’s music enchanting in an understated way. No matter how different each song is, all have a floating, relaxing quality to it. Taking a listen to “I Forget It’s There” best encapsulates Lay Low’s style.
2010 was a busy year for Lay Low. She toured internationally, making stops in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and parts of Europe, playing with such artists as April Smith, The Clientele, and Emiliana Torrini. This year, in addition to doing shows in her country, she’s currently hard at work on her third LP, which will be released in Fall 2011.
Lay Low let her fans know that she’ll be taking a different route to her upcoming album. Unlike her two English language albums, this LP will be sung in the Icelandic language with the lyrics taken from poems of Icelandic women from past centuries up to the present. Hopefully she’ll come back to the US soon after the album release to promote this Icelandic LP. I’m certainly interested to see how her American fans will react to the foreign language in a live setting. - The Wild Honey Pie

Icelandic singer-songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir simply goes by the two syllable stage name Lay Low (@lovisalaylow). Though known for her unique voice, Lay Low surprisingly didn’t start singing until her twenties when the band she performed with needed a singer and couldn’t find one. A record label obtained a demo and, impressed with Lovísa’s vocals, she subsequently became Lay Low.
Lay Low’s voice is intriguing. It’s simple, soothing, sultry and sounds like it never goes above a whisper. The same goes for the music that accompanies her voice. It’s more folk than country and has some Americana at the heart of it. The combination of the right amount of 50’s and 60’s country twang and a bit of the blues in her songs makes Lay Low’s music enchanting in an understated way. No matter how different each song is, all have a floating, relaxing quality to it. Taking a listen to “I Forget It’s There” best encapsulates Lay Low’s style.
2010 was a busy year for Lay Low. She toured internationally, making stops in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and parts of Europe, playing with such artists as April Smith, The Clientele, and Emiliana Torrini. This year, in addition to doing shows in her country, she’s currently hard at work on her third LP, which will be released in Fall 2011.
Lay Low let her fans know that she’ll be taking a different route to her upcoming album. Unlike her two English language albums, this LP will be sung in the Icelandic language with the lyrics taken from poems of Icelandic women from past centuries up to the present. Hopefully she’ll come back to the US soon after the album release to promote this Icelandic LP. I’m certainly interested to see how her American fans will react to the foreign language in a live setting. - The Wild Honey Pie

Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir, better known by the stage name Lay Low, is often called the Patsy Cline of Iceland, and it's not hard to hear why. Her latest record, Farewell Good Night's Sleep, draws inspiration from country music of the 1950s and '60s, and even replicates recording techniques from that era.

"We had all the tape machines, and the band played all together in one room," Lay Low says.

Farewell Good Night's Sleep has already been certified gold in Iceland — it has sold more than 9,000 copies in a country with a population of only 300,000. It was released in the U.S. earlier this month. - NPR

Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir, better known by the stage name Lay Low, is often called the Patsy Cline of Iceland, and it's not hard to hear why. Her latest record, Farewell Good Night's Sleep, draws inspiration from country music of the 1950s and '60s, and even replicates recording techniques from that era.

"We had all the tape machines, and the band played all together in one room," Lay Low says.

Farewell Good Night's Sleep has already been certified gold in Iceland — it has sold more than 9,000 copies in a country with a population of only 300,000. It was released in the U.S. earlier this month. - NPR

What began as a side project became a full-time gig for Iceland's Lovísa Elísabet. A keyboardist/vocalist in another Reykjavik band, she recorded a handful of blues- and country-influenced songs with a friend and put them on MySpace in 2006 under the name Lay Low. Today, she's sold more than 10,000 copies of her debut, "Please Don't Hate Me," in Iceland (a platinum-selling effort there) and has recently entered the studio with producer Liam Watson (the White Stripes, Holly Golightly) to prep her international debut."I can hardly listen to that first album anymore," the 25-year-old singer/songwriter says in her soft Icelandic lilt. "This next set is more band-oriented. Liam and I bonded over the music we love."The as-yet-untitled effort is slated to hit her home country in October but will come to American shores in late January 2009 with the help of a tight team: Frank Riley at High Road for touring, Girlie Action for publicity and Alternative Distribution Alliance as a distributor unless a stateside label decides to pick it up. Lay Low will showcase her songs, all sung in English, on both coasts come November.Her arrival doesn't come as a total cold call. "Mojo Love," the lead single from "Please Don't Hate Me," was featured on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" a couple of years ago (the track has sold 1,000 digital downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan). The track "Wonderplace" is slated to be included in "Searching for On the Road," the documentary behind director Walter Salles' feature film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road."Elísabet has also found success in another, unexpected realm: the theater. After the radio and retail success of "Please Don't Hate Me," she was charged to become the musical director and performer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "How I Learned to Drive" in Iceland. The subsequent, accompanying mini-album "Okutimar" moved 5,000 copies.All this points to an artist ready to break out of an island country that has only 300,000 people. "I'm comfortable with English and the couple of times I toured in America, in L.A. and New York, I've felt great," she says. - Billboard

What began as a side project became a full-time gig for Iceland's Lovísa Elísabet. A keyboardist/vocalist in another Reykjavik band, she recorded a handful of blues- and country-influenced songs with a friend and put them on MySpace in 2006 under the name Lay Low. Today, she's sold more than 10,000 copies of her debut, "Please Don't Hate Me," in Iceland (a platinum-selling effort there) and has recently entered the studio with producer Liam Watson (the White Stripes, Holly Golightly) to prep her international debut."I can hardly listen to that first album anymore," the 25-year-old singer/songwriter says in her soft Icelandic lilt. "This next set is more band-oriented. Liam and I bonded over the music we love."The as-yet-untitled effort is slated to hit her home country in October but will come to American shores in late January 2009 with the help of a tight team: Frank Riley at High Road for touring, Girlie Action for publicity and Alternative Distribution Alliance as a distributor unless a stateside label decides to pick it up. Lay Low will showcase her songs, all sung in English, on both coasts come November.Her arrival doesn't come as a total cold call. "Mojo Love," the lead single from "Please Don't Hate Me," was featured on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" a couple of years ago (the track has sold 1,000 digital downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan). The track "Wonderplace" is slated to be included in "Searching for On the Road," the documentary behind director Walter Salles' feature film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road."Elísabet has also found success in another, unexpected realm: the theater. After the radio and retail success of "Please Don't Hate Me," she was charged to become the musical director and performer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "How I Learned to Drive" in Iceland. The subsequent, accompanying mini-album "Okutimar" moved 5,000 copies.All this points to an artist ready to break out of an island country that has only 300,000 people. "I'm comfortable with English and the couple of times I toured in America, in L.A. and New York, I've felt great," she says. - Billboard

Lay Low, aka Icelandic singer-songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, surprisingly took a hold of the growing Echoplex crowd with her fragile yet poignant vocals over some gorgeous, guitar work that seemed to have a happy skip to them. Although a solo aritist, Lay Low recruited one other female musician to accompany her this night and we were glad she did so. When both ladies sang, the harmonies effortlessly floated above our heads even with the sharp distinction in both of their tones. One (Lay Low) had a very bright and textured sound while one had very round, rich, and shapely tone, yet when both met one another through harmonies, a very gentle and smooth and effective wave of beauty was strengthened. - BeatCrave

Lay Low, aka Icelandic singer-songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, surprisingly took a hold of the growing Echoplex crowd with her fragile yet poignant vocals over some gorgeous, guitar work that seemed to have a happy skip to them. Although a solo aritist, Lay Low recruited one other female musician to accompany her this night and we were glad she did so. When both ladies sang, the harmonies effortlessly floated above our heads even with the sharp distinction in both of their tones. One (Lay Low) had a very bright and textured sound while one had very round, rich, and shapely tone, yet when both met one another through harmonies, a very gentle and smooth and effective wave of beauty was strengthened. - BeatCrave

Hearing singer/songwriter Lay Low for the first time you could be forgiven for not being able to guess her true homeland. Though Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir (Lay Low’s real name) comes from the same land as Bjork, Sigur Ros, etc, her spiritual home seems to be the American South, the birthplace of country music. The Icelander sings mellow, pedal-steel infused tunes that conjure up images of dusty plains and barbecue more so than the crystalline sterility of her home country.



Lay Low’s sophomore album Farewell Good Night’s Sleep will be out in the U.S. in early March, and it is a pretty sturdy collection of tunes. With just a wee bit of Sixties’ sunny pop mixed into her twanginess, Elísabet has crafted ten immaculately produced original songs (plus a cover of Left Frizzell’s “The Reason Why my Heart’s in Misery”) that invoke comparisons from Patsy Cline to Nancy Sinatra. Elísabet’s songwriting runs the gamut from chipper to heartbroken, but regardless of what her mood is she always seems to be a disaster waiting to happen. “I made you cry and I’ll make you cry with the things I do,” she croons on one of the album’s poppier tracks “By and By.” From lying to hurting to cheating – Elísabet seems to have covered all the old country sources of misery (well, except drinking that is). For this reason she tends to sound a little more honest in her more downtrodden, bluesy songs like “I Forget it’s There,” and “On My Own.”



In Lay Low’s more lighthearted work Elísabet’s vocals can be both a blessing and a curse. While she possesses a truly pristine set of smoky pipes, her oftentimes “cute” sprightliness can sound a bit trite singing songs about sorrow and hardship. Still, it’s not so much a major problem as it is an occasional annoyance – overall Farewell Good Night’s Sleep is a pretty delightful listen. While I am not always entirely convinced by Law Low’s melancholy, I am usually charmed by her sweetness.

– Jon Behm
- Reviler

Hearing singer/songwriter Lay Low for the first time you could be forgiven for not being able to guess her true homeland. Though Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir (Lay Low’s real name) comes from the same land as Bjork, Sigur Ros, etc, her spiritual home seems to be the American South, the birthplace of country music. The Icelander sings mellow, pedal-steel infused tunes that conjure up images of dusty plains and barbecue more so than the crystalline sterility of her home country.



Lay Low’s sophomore album Farewell Good Night’s Sleep will be out in the U.S. in early March, and it is a pretty sturdy collection of tunes. With just a wee bit of Sixties’ sunny pop mixed into her twanginess, Elísabet has crafted ten immaculately produced original songs (plus a cover of Left Frizzell’s “The Reason Why my Heart’s in Misery”) that invoke comparisons from Patsy Cline to Nancy Sinatra. Elísabet’s songwriting runs the gamut from chipper to heartbroken, but regardless of what her mood is she always seems to be a disaster waiting to happen. “I made you cry and I’ll make you cry with the things I do,” she croons on one of the album’s poppier tracks “By and By.” From lying to hurting to cheating – Elísabet seems to have covered all the old country sources of misery (well, except drinking that is). For this reason she tends to sound a little more honest in her more downtrodden, bluesy songs like “I Forget it’s There,” and “On My Own.”



In Lay Low’s more lighthearted work Elísabet’s vocals can be both a blessing and a curse. While she possesses a truly pristine set of smoky pipes, her oftentimes “cute” sprightliness can sound a bit trite singing songs about sorrow and hardship. Still, it’s not so much a major problem as it is an occasional annoyance – overall Farewell Good Night’s Sleep is a pretty delightful listen. While I am not always entirely convinced by Law Low’s melancholy, I am usually charmed by her sweetness.

– Jon Behm
- Reviler

Lay Low was perhaps the most purely gorgeous set I saw all weekend. Not that anyone really goes to music festivals to hear something soft and pretty and thoughtful, but in this case I will absolutely, lovingly take it. Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir (whose full name I mention in part because it's an adventure for me) sings everything in an indoor voice with the tone of a sunlit confession. She doesn't have the poppy drumbeats of an Ingrid Michaelson or Regina Spektor or anyone in the commercialized indie pop female singer-songwriter stock; it's just her and her guitar and something honest and wrenching. I imagine her strumming her gentle little folk songs from a couch, in a dimly lit café, on a rocking chair. The audience even held remarkably quiet, and even between songs the comers and goers and beer garden denizens kept to an intentional whisper. Lay Low even treated the audience to some beautiful songs in Icelandic, including "Sorgin," meaning "sadness," a song based on her mother's longing for the home country she had to leave, which even without lyrics sounds like the voices of a letter with portraits enclosed.

For the most part, it was just Sigrúnardóttir onstage, occasionally joined by another female vocalist (who countered with a rich lower range, like the dusk to Sigrúnardóttir's sunny tone) and glockenspiel or ukulele. Glock and uke get thrown into pop songs a lot these days, but Lay Low never goes too crazy with them. They show up when they need to show up, and they melt in so nicely you hardly realize they're there. Lay Low does throw in a little crazy, though, with more gritty bluesy tunes like "Please Don't Hate Me" that still pack soul even with a lone lady onstage. And she can says more with fewer people and gadgets onstage because it says so much to what some of the best songs are about: a conversation, a connection, raw vulnerability. - Seattle Weekly

Lay Low was perhaps the most purely gorgeous set I saw all weekend. Not that anyone really goes to music festivals to hear something soft and pretty and thoughtful, but in this case I will absolutely, lovingly take it. Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir (whose full name I mention in part because it's an adventure for me) sings everything in an indoor voice with the tone of a sunlit confession. She doesn't have the poppy drumbeats of an Ingrid Michaelson or Regina Spektor or anyone in the commercialized indie pop female singer-songwriter stock; it's just her and her guitar and something honest and wrenching. I imagine her strumming her gentle little folk songs from a couch, in a dimly lit café, on a rocking chair. The audience even held remarkably quiet, and even between songs the comers and goers and beer garden denizens kept to an intentional whisper. Lay Low even treated the audience to some beautiful songs in Icelandic, including "Sorgin," meaning "sadness," a song based on her mother's longing for the home country she had to leave, which even without lyrics sounds like the voices of a letter with portraits enclosed.

For the most part, it was just Sigrúnardóttir onstage, occasionally joined by another female vocalist (who countered with a rich lower range, like the dusk to Sigrúnardóttir's sunny tone) and glockenspiel or ukulele. Glock and uke get thrown into pop songs a lot these days, but Lay Low never goes too crazy with them. They show up when they need to show up, and they melt in so nicely you hardly realize they're there. Lay Low does throw in a little crazy, though, with more gritty bluesy tunes like "Please Don't Hate Me" that still pack soul even with a lone lady onstage. And she can says more with fewer people and gadgets onstage because it says so much to what some of the best songs are about: a conversation, a connection, raw vulnerability. - Seattle Weekly