Free spirit and indie-pop intimate Felly dropped new songs to announce a new album soon to come.
Felly went to Instagram on March 12 to announce the release of two new singles, “Ambroxyde” and “Black Shoes,” which will be featured on his next album. In the post, he talked about the journey the tracks had traveled over time, stating they had been conceptualized during his lengthy trip around Iceland.
“Always taken back watching new sounds and worlds unfold,” Felly wrote. “Worlds that I dream up and that usually start with a color or a mood, and then proceed to take over my thoughts until I receive more pieces of the story.
“Living out the music, moving around the world, and doing it with my friends has been all I could ask for.”
Understandably, these two tracks slipped under my radar, seeing as I was staring down the barrel of preparing for my own trip to Iceland when they released. I actually found the announcement and listened to the two songs for the first time on the tour bus that wheeled me, a handful of friends and a good portion of the journalism faculty throughout the island nation.
A little about Iceland for context before digging into the two songs – it’s like another world. Nowhere I have ever been has felt so linked - so raw - as the countryside of Iceland.
It’s there that I really came to understand the beauty and the violence of nature. There are fields and fields of grass and moss that cover old lava flow, volcanic eruptions are a seemingly constant looming threat and the brutal weather changes like harsh moods.
There was one day that our group got snowed, sleeted, rained and hailed on all before lunch.
The only thing to break up the unending winds are mountains that hang hundreds and thousands of feet above you and, in the most empty areas, the closest pair of helping hands live in a farmhouse who knows how far away.
The most insane part of it all is that through its beauty and horror, it feels so alone and so unbothered. It’s lonely, gorgeous, deadly and most of all, indifferent. The nation seems to be a perfect muse – much like New York City or Paris is.
That, alongside being a long-standing fan of Felly and his music, is why I’m so excited for this upcoming album and after these two tracks I’m feeling hopeful for it.
“Ambroxyde” builds a narrative of finding freedom through both spontaneity and absurdism while walking between cinematic and warm instrumentals.
“See how it goes when I just don’t plan it, Isn’t it obvious? We’re just some particles,” Felly sings over dreamy, floating strings.
The mentions of being small, being dizzy, but most importantly being cut loose beat with the pulse of Iceland. Though it can feel so frighteningly massive and empty, it’s liberating in its stunning desolation.
“Black Shoes” cuts through with delightful country elements and an interesting but not foreign vocal style from Felly. The title immediately brings to mind Iceland’s black sediment and how it loves to stick to your shoes in the wet weather.
I think more accurately the song is about someone, reminiscent of the turbulent Icelandic weather, rolling through swathes of coldness and bitterness. As she rains on Felly, his source of balance gets dirtied and thrown down only to get picked up and dusted off in a dance.
As the album’s rollout continues, I really hope to hear a deeper connection to Iceland in Felly’s tracks. The island nation feels so tied to itself in so many ways, and I really want to feel Felly and his music get tangled up in the beautiful dichotomy of it all.
It’s currently unknown when the album will drop but more tracks are on the way regardless, so keep an eye out. I have a feeling they’ll only get better from here.
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