Great NXNE Reviews:
A n' E Vibe:
Bloodgroup (Neutral Lounge, 3:00 a.m.)
5 out of 5 stars
So back to Bloodgroup, the band I unfortunately missed most of on Thursday. Anything you read about their live
performance won't do them justice. From keytars to synthesizers to some
of the biggest dance beats to grace the NXNE stages, the young band
came away as one of my favourite of the festival. Stage presence seeps
from this band with ease, and if you’re not dancing, then I don’t think
you’ve got human emotion. They throw so many elements and ideas at you
that it can be overwhelming, but you’re having too good of a time to
even really care. This is a group that I would love to see blow up big
in North America. Reportedly they’ve already gained a reputation as
being one of Iceland’s hottest live acts. They’re working on another
album at the moment, and with the right marketing, Bloodgroup might
just get everyone on this side of the Atlantic to dance along.## http://www.anevibe.com/content/view/2073/9/
Much Music:
Having had a flood of press releases hit my inbox about the
Icelandic electro-house quartet, Bloodgroup for the past two weeks, I
decided to give them a chance to hit me with their best shot (musically
speaking, we’ve had enough verbal/physical assaults last Sunday with
Will.i.am dropping a different kind of beat on Perez allegedly) (editor’s note: if you believe Perez).
Thanks to my two-night stand experience with Guelph synthers, Green Go,
I was preparing myself for an onslaught of synthy goodness and
Bloodgroup did not disappoint. At times thrusting Kate M. into a
euphoric freedom dance, the crowd went crazy creeping closer and closer
to the former-Air Sex Championships stage as the magnetic frontman,
Janus, exchanged endearing glances with the his equally enthralling and
undeniably alluring frontwoman, while performing “Ain’t Easy.”
For bringing us good tunes and the keytar, Canada salutes you Iceland.
Final Score for NXNE on Thursday, June 18.
Canada: 1
America: 0
The Rest of the World Iceland: 1
While NXNE does whet our inner-indie appetites, let’s not let our
inner patriot forget that like the Southern counterpart, NXNE is a
Mecca for all bands to flock to, Canadian or Non-Canadian. We’re a
cosmopolitan of diverse music, art and culture, why not bask in it?
So to answer your question Mr. NXNE-should-be-all-CanCon to why
there was a band from Iceland playing that night? Well, I guess you’ll
never know…at least until they come back.
## http://blog.muchmusic.com/nxne-to-cancon-or-to-not-cancon/
Much Music:
Next up was the Icelandic electronic soon too make it huge band
Bloodgroup.
Also never heard of them before. Also blown away. Perhaps my favourite
show of the night. Apparently they are considered one of Iceland’s best
live acts, and I completely believe it. Their sound check was without a
doubt the coolest sound check I’ve ever heard; even the testing mic was
like a song. The entire band is amazing, but vocalist Lija is a
standout with her beautiful soaring voice and magnetic nature.
Freaking crazy awesome.
They will be playing another NXNE show at 3 am this Saturday June 20th
at Neutral Lounge. I highly recommend it if you feel like a party.
## http://blog.muchmusic.com/nxne-el-mocambo-thursday-june-18th/
Torontoist:
Bloodgroup
(Reykjavik, Iceland) @ the El Mocambo (Down) as part of the Musebox
showcase: Sure, Bloodgroup may have an occult-ish band name and a lead
singer bearing an uncanny resemblance to
Drag Me To Hell actress
Alison Lohman,
but there was nothing overtly ghoulish about their early candy-coated
set on this bill rife with foreign acts. Four dudes dressed like
members of The Warriors churned out fuzzy LCD Soundsystem–style
electro-house (three of them on keyboards and samplers, one on a
keytar) while chanteuse Lilja Jonsdottir laid down sultry Madonna-esque
vocals submerged in buckets of reverb. Okay, so mall goths will dig
Bloodgroup’s melodramatic Within Temptation–style ballads, though they
may get scared away by their dance-y aesthetic, saccharine choruses
and, well, keytar player. (ANG)
Bloodgroup by Nick Kozak/Torontoist.
## http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=95390797314&h=D0tcD&u=zkTws&ref=mf