Kaktus Einarsson - Lobster Coda (2024) [Hi-Res]

Icelandic indie-pop songwriter Kaktus Einarsson releases his second album Lobster Coda. Amidst a collection of lush, electronic earworms, Kaktus has penned an honest account of his recovery from a sudden functional neurological disorder (FND) that required him to relearn how to use his motor functions, while also performing his duties as a new father. Lobster Coda incorporates dreamy, glistening synth-pop and melancholic ambience, created through layers of atmospheric keys, percussion, and groove-laden funk bass. Kaktus details his journey following a stress-induced nonepileptic seizure that halted his brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of his body, resulting in losing control of his legs, arms and causing involuntary facial tics. Crucially, he spent months on a course of physical therapy while also trying to care for his children and his partner, that by his own admission he then needed to reconnect with. With an occasionally brutal candour, Kaktus’s new album is about taking the time to reflect and recognise changes that need to be made, to listen to your body, and to trust the process no matter how long it might take. Album standout ‘Be This Way’ merges the darker post-punk of his previous Fufanu material with glacial pop and additional vocals from Nanna, of the Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men. ‘Gumbri’ features long-time friend and collaborator Damon Albarn. The Blur/Gorillaz frontman and Kaktus have known each other for many years, Kaktus played trumpet on ‘Stop The Dams’ at age 15, and shortly after he was flown to London to work on Damon’s debut solo album ‘Everyday Robots’, which they then toured together. Kaktus also engineered ‘Maison Des Jeunes’ for the Africa Express project that Albarn launched.