Oyama

"A timeless shoegaze sound... storming" - John Kennedy, Xfm
"Woozy tunes and off-kilter harmonies that map out some entrancing sonic terrain" - Quietus
"Screeching guitars and bruising shoegaze... 'Dinosaur' has a jerky Dischord Records-ish malevolence we like a lot." - Drowned In Sound
"I'd kill to see them live - I love it." - Dani Charlton, Amazing Radio - Xfm, Amazing Radio, Quietus, DiS

"A timeless shoegaze sound... storming" - John Kennedy, Xfm
"Woozy tunes and off-kilter harmonies that map out some entrancing sonic terrain" - Quietus
"Screeching guitars and bruising shoegaze... 'Dinosaur' has a jerky Dischord Records-ish malevolence we like a lot." - Drowned In Sound
"I'd kill to see them live - I love it." - Dani Charlton, Amazing Radio - Xfm, Amazing Radio, Quietus, DiS

At the freshest end of the scale we have Oyama, a new young band from Reykjavik who play a show on each five nights of the festival - a hardworking strategy that pays off as by the end they are playing to full rooms who have picked up on the buzz about their woozy 90s-influenced noiserock. - Clash Magazine

Reykjavik locals Oyama don't make music particularly fitting of their blustery-but-picturesque surroundings but then again neither did Dubliners My Bloody Valentine, whose screeching guitars and bruising shoegaze they take definite cues from. 'Dinosaur' has a jerky Dischord Records-ish malevolence we like a lot. Original? Not particularly. Good? You betcha. - Drowned In Sound

No doubt about it (although in all likelihood it's going to be Tilbury or Kiriyama Family). I've been howling up Oyama's underwear on tumblr and facebook but I can hardly contain myself. I'm bringing the gospel to the blog. It's been a while since I was this excited about a home turf band.
Now before I go further, lets tackle the whole shoegaze / dream pop thing. Yes, "mature hardcore bands" often split up into other projects that take on "this sound." This happens all the time. Last time it was grunge and noise rock. Now it is dreamgazeshoepop. I don't mind. It is swell. The indie crowd is on this train too. It's hot. I don't care what the scribes are coining it. What matters is songwriting and whether a band can move you on an emotional or visceral level. If it can, then I'm not in the market for unfathomable originality. I just want some good tunes that stick to my teflon brain. And Oyama has those. Do they fucking ever.

One month ago, I wrote, "I'm in awe of this new Oyama jam. Like Ride met more stripped down and dreamy Hum. What a winner. Jesus." The song in question is 'Shade.' I can't shake it off. The male and female vocals compliment each other perfectly.


My Bloody Valentine gets mentioned a lot when Oyama is up for discussion. I hear it, but there's more going on. Twirl in air'ier (what a bastard of a word!) Elastica and looser Sebadoh in there too while you're at it. But it matters not. Really. What matters is that Oyama is on the scene and the question is, can they keep up with the awesomeness of the two songs they've unveiled online up to this point? It's a tall order, but I trust this troupe. It has got the manpower: Úlfur Alexander (Fist Fokkers, Swords Of Chaos, Útidúr), Kári Einarsson (Fist Fokkers), Rúnar Örn Marinósson (Me, The Slumbering Napoleon), Júla Hermannsdóttir (We Painted The Walls) og svo Bergur Anderson (Sudden Weather Change, Just Another Snake Cult). - Halifax Collect