A decade before the Sugarcubes took on the world, two before Sigur Rós made waves and four before Of Monsters and Men conquered America, Iceland’s Pelican blazed the trail for all that followed for their fellow country folk.
Pelican recorded in and played America in 1974 and 1975, and issued two albums. Iceland’s Prog-Pop Pioneers: The Anthology collects their complete recordings for the first time and pays tribute to this important band in the history of Icelandic music. The release follows RPM International’s collection of Seventies Icelandic pop, Poppsaga (Retro 943), where Pelican were a highlight.
Pelican’s distinctive music married Beatle-esque pop to a progressive rock and was always melodic, always moody.
Jenny Darling was irresistible upbeat pop; the atmospheric Golden Promises evoked open spaces and epic landscapes. These feature on Disc One on the first album Uppteknir , Pelican instantly became Iceland's biggest band.
On Disc Two the second album Litil Fluga, they brought a taste of American roots rock to Iceland but still sounded exotic, elemental. Pelican never lost their Icelandic flavour.
The story is told beyond Iceland for the first time by Icelandic music expert and host of the country’s television pop quiz Dr. Gunni – Gunnar Lárus Hjálmarsson – also the author of Stuð Vors lands, the definitive history of Iceland's music which, as Blue Eyed Pop, became the first book in English on the subject.
