“…part White Stripes and part Zach Condon’s Beirut” – Seanie Blue
Nóra traces its roots back to a dark garage on the west side of Reykjavik. There, brother and sister Egill Viðarsson (vocals, guitar) and Auður Viðarsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), started making music back in 2006, along with their good friend Hrafn Fritzson on bass. The band was fully formed two years later when the trio was joined by drummer Bragi Páll Sigurðarson and guitar/mandolin/whatever-ist Frank Arthur Blöndahl Cassata. The band was quite busy in 2008, playing local bars and smaller venues. Their “charming and tight performances” quickly gathered them a loyal following in the Reykjavik music scene.
Nóra’s members are hard-pressed to define their music, but other’s have described it as “some kind of honey-glazed indie pop”. The band-members’ varying musical background and taste has led to a very diverse catalogue of original songs. Nóra’s influences include such acts as Radiohead, Bob Dylan, TV on the Radio, The Mars Volta, Pixies, Converge, Roy Orbison and Neil Young. Nóra’s members are multi-instrumentalists by nature, often switching instruments mid-set if the mood so strikes them. They will be recording their debut album in an old fish-oil silo in the desolate West Fjords of Iceland late summer 2009, with the release scheduled for early winter 2009.
