The Vintage Caravan, Arrival

This most rare of things, a rock band from Iceland that have over the years honed their musical talents after one of the longest apprenticeships I’ve ever heard!

Allow me to introduce “The Vintage Caravan”. They first started jamming back in 2006, playing at local gigs around Iceland. However, they only seriously got into the rock scene around 2009.  So, taking their time, they have at last launched themselves onto the wider world in 2014 with their first album “Voyager”. Now chasing hot on the heels of the blues band ‘Blues Pills’, this young band of three lads serve you up another portion of the Blues Rock cake, but this time with a much heavier sound and feel. Added cherry’s you might say?

They bring to us a deep underlying Blues-tone with a traditional British 70’s rock sound, not unlike a very early Black Sabbath or Deep Purple! The new album is laced with copious amounts of ‘heavy lead guitar’, nineteen seventies style organ sounds and drums that will split your ears, all this combined with excellent heavy bass riffs and a lead singer who jells everything together makes for one hell of a good album! The first track “Last Day Of Night” was a great introduction to this new album “Arrival”, pretty much a showcase track that sets the out just where the guys are coming from.

“Eclipsed” started in a slow mystic and thoughtful sort of way, then with a rising crescendo, the cool and calm lyrics turn this track into quite a nice rock ballad! In just this one song there is enough going on to please every genre of rock fan. There are just so many different recognizable styles and sounds mixed up in this; it really cannot be compared to any past bands. They have somehow managed to combine a multiplex of sounds and tweaked everything to make this a unique Vintage Caravan sound!

My personal favorite track was “Sandwalker “. The upbeat tempo set the hairs on my neck on edge and brought back thoughts of ZZTop’s ‘La Grange’ mixed with light sprinkle of Thin Lizzy type riffs! The mood change half way through was a bit different, but that is what making music is all about isn’t it?

Before hearing this album I’d not really read or heard much about The Vintage Caravan, so they are at the moment very new to me. Nevertheless, I am convinced that at least one band member is a Deep Purple fan. You can just feel the rock bands influences pumping through the veins of their songs and exploding out of the many great tracks on Arrival.

“Innerverse” has a pure magical flavour and the Celtic feel to it mixes in well with their creation. It’s a great song to just sit down and listen too, as the guys really do ‘go for it’ with this musical set piece.

I’d also just like to quickly mention the album cover. Stunning! Reminiscent of an early ‘Yes’ album perhaps? But all the same, I love these psychedelic themed covers. Bring back more vinyl LP’s I say, CD covers are far too small to enjoy the cover art!

Members:

Óskar Logi – Guitar and vocals

Alexander Örn – Bass and backup vocals

Stefán Ari Stefánsson – Drum

Track List:-

• Last Day Of Night
• Monolith
• Babylon
• Eclipsed
• Shaken Beliefs
• Crazy Horses
• Sandwalker
• Innerverse
• Carousel
• Winter Queen