KEXP at Iceland Airwaves, Day 3: Prins Póló

Our third act at our awesome off venue stage at Kex Hostel show of the day live from Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavik was Prins Póló (this also happens to be the name of a Polish chocolate bar here in Iceland, but we assure you it was the artist, not the candy, that we broadcast live). Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson took the name Prins Póló for his solo debut in 2009. Before that, he played with alternative rock band Skakkamanage. We featured his tune Hamstra sjarma recently as the KEXP Song of the Day. He is massively popular in his home country, and his infectious rock sounds could easily translate to global audiences, even if his all Icelandic lyrics might not. He tends to perform in a paper crown at live shows, and he was sporting a sparkly golden version at our show tonight.

He opened the set with that aforementioned song of the day, whose name translates to "hamster charm" (although the lyrics are indecipherable, this title gives a sense of the humor contained within). It started with the keyboard before Eysteinsson's rock guitar lines entered the mix. The song was bouncy, upbeat, but minimal. This set the tone for much of the set, which featured a 4-piece band including a stripped down drum kit (played standing), and bass guitar. Prince Póló is fun rock and roll, but not overdone by any means. There is space left in every song. The band tends to do a lot with a little. Eysteinsson does't so much sing as chant. He doesn't display a huge dynamic range, but he more than makes up for it with his dynamic stage presence. He shows that simple can be satisfying. There was a great, energetic crowd filling the room for this show, dancing along. It seemed this was one of the more local crowds, as lips were synching along for many of the songs.

Eysteinsson also tends to favor single note guitar lines over strummed chords, with a fairly clean, unadorned sound. Instruments drop in and out of the mix, leaving plenty of space for songs to breathe. "Hope you're having a great time in Iceland," Eysteinsson said between tunes. The crowd applauded appreciatively and started dancing again as soon as the next tune began. His voice struggled a bit with higher notes on the third song, "Kosmós", but it was still a solid, slightly darker tune in an overall positive set. As the set progressed it moved a bit from a driving indie rock towards almost a more classic rock influenced sound. Eysteinsson got the crowd clapping along for a drums and vocal breakdown until the beat dropped back in and the crowd started wiggling again. After the song's abrupt end, the band seemed pleased and even a bit surprised by the crowd's enthusiastic response. "Wow, thank you, you are wonderful. You are amazing!" said Eysteinsson.

The six song set closed with the highest energy and most danceable number of the night, "París Norðursins", and even more of that classic rock inspiration in the guitar's tone. Like the first song, this one also featured particularly fast lyrics and an infectious beat. Speedy Icelandic spilled from Eysteinsson's lips as he bobbed around the stage. The music was even more stripped down on this tune, largely driven by bass and drums with guitar and keys dropping in and out. A "war-ooh-wah-ooh-wah-ah" refrain completed the peppy effect. As the set came to a close the crowd was clearly very happy with what they'd just witnessed.

Stick with us, as we've got Kimono on live at 11:30am PST on 90.3FM in Seattle, and streaming audio and video live all over the world at kexp.org.