Song of the Day: SUÐ - Plastgea

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we are featuring songs by Icelandic artists performing Iceland Airwaves 2016.

SUÐ - Plastgea (MP3)

Today's featured song is "Plastgea" by SUÐ from their 2016 album, Meira suð!, self-released on Gráðuga útgáfan.SUÐ is a band you'll swear you've heard before no matter how unlikely it is that you have. The Icelandic trio originally formed in the late '90s and recorded one well-received album, Hugsanavélin, before life took its members along different paths. Their sound was a product of its time, influenced heavily by classic "indie" bands like Guided By Voices, Pavement, and Hüsker Dü, while remaining essentially Icelandic, and they were beloved enough to receive an Icelandic Music Awards nomination for best new band in 1999. By 2003, they had all moved on. Life's paths, though, are winding ones, and twin brothers Helgi and Kjartan (guitar, bass and singing) met back up with their friend and drummer Magnus a decade later to literally get the band back together and figuratively haven't missed a beat. Now, 17 years after their first, they back with Meira suð! (meaning, more buzz!), and based on today's featured song, the Pavement-loving "Plastgea", the LP's second single, they're just as reverent to those indie rock gods of yore while still seeming relevant today.

SUÐ will kick off KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast from Kex Hostel in Reykjavik on Wednesday at 6AM Seattle time, and we'll be broadcasting live video also on our Facebook page. In the meantime, find out more about SUÐ on their website and Facebook page. For now, check out the band's first single from Meira suð!, "Á flótta":