Sweet Sweet Lies - 'Capital of Iceland'
Occupying a stretch of seedy territory otherwise frequented by Nick Cave, but somewhat closer to the pub, Sweet Sweet Lies have capped off a string of performances through the spring with this new double single.
‘The Capital of Iceland’ is a ramshackle, booze-sodden travesty (in a good way) of a track that rollicks along, almost but never quite leaving the rails, helped on its way by Dominic Von Trapp’s delivery of lines such as ‘now I’m going out to think / and dance around and f**kin’ drink’ with ferocious intent.
Guitarist Mike Hayes’ sweet tenor provides ample contrast to Von Trapp’s runaway vocals, taking the lead on ‘Winter of Discontent’, a song with folky inflections that give way to a boisterous chorus. The single is rounded out by the somewhat unnecessary inclusion of a musically identical but lyrically divergent version (they leave out the swearing) of ‘The Capital of Iceland’. All up, pretty good.