I adore getting mail. REAL mail. It usually means that the record I’ve been waiting weeks for has finally arrived. (Currently I’m waiting on the kicky little heart-shaped vinyl from heartsrevolution and Crystal Castles’ Air War, the latter of which I’m particularly excited about because it features David Wolf’s remix, which you can preorder from here.) But what makes real mail extra special is when it comes from Iceland. Believe it or not, I don’t get mail from Iceland that often, which is a shame seeing as it’s the land of small ponies and boasts one of the highest percentages of musicians per capita in the world. Yes, really.

Anyway, the sexy little Icelandic electro-pop outfit, Bloodgroup, have finally finished recording their debut LP, Sticky Situation, and were kind enough to send us a copy. It is fantastic. This is a group you’ll most likely be hearing a lot more about in the future as their current tour of the UK has been generating a steady increase in attention from non-Icelandic music commentators (just a few months ago you would have been hard-pressed to find anything written about them in English, which I found quite frustrating, because no, I can’t read Icelandic. Sorry). Their tracks range from dark and slightly-angsty electro, to wonderfully pop-friendly numbers, with lashings of that atmospheric orchestra-laced sound which Bjork and Sigur Ros have made so well-known. Be sure to check out Bloodgroup at their Myspace page and you can pick up Sticky Situation on iTunes now.

Bloodgroup – Ain’t Easy

Bloodgroup – Chuck

And while we’re conducting a bit of an Icelandic love-in right now, we’ve got a few tracks from some of Bloodgroup’s countrymates below that I’m a bit into right now. The first Sigur Rós one sounds like a conversation between a couple of killer whales set to music, no? Stunning.

Sigur Rós – Hvalir Í Útrymingaraettu

Sigur Rós – Untitled 1 aka Vaka (Goddamn Electric Bill Remix)

Apparat Organ Quartet -Romantica

Jakobínarína – His Lyrics are Disastrous (Beat Totem Rmx)

-bec