I first heard Börn when I was up in Iceland last year.  After hearing a track or two I was excited to get the chance to hear them in person at Iceland Airwaves ’14.  Alas, their time slots never seemed to work, and when I did finally get to see them, I had to split the time as I really wanted to see another of Iceland’s punk bands, Kælan mikla, who were playing directly below Börn at the same time.  So I got to see a half show but really wanted more.

Luckily for me, this past Saturday they stopped by a random Boston basement on their U.S. tour to play a gig with Laika’s Orbit and Leather Daddy. put on by the outfit, Grandma’s house.

Laika’s Orbit was a pleasant pop-punk band, more punk than pop, but their melodies and rhythms worked well in being the first band of the night.  Leather Daddy, an all female band, growled and thumped causing the crowd in this tiny basement to move around to the absolute limit they could.

Börn, up next, is comprised of 4 members; Alexandra on vocals, Anna Guðný on Guitar, Júlíana on bass, and Fannar on drums.  Their riffs remind me of Christian Death and their hard-edged vocals amplify the complex and somewhat forcefully dark energy that erupted from their playing area.  There is a lot of energy,  Fannar almost knocked the bass drum over twice, Alexandra had to put two cinder blocks in front just to keep it still.  There may or may not have been a kick pedal casualty during the set.  When they were finished, the crowd politely asked for more, and the they obliged with one more song.

From what I’ve been told, and what I’ve Google translated, their lyrics cry out against the horrible way we treat folks over body image and stereotypes.  And they are living proof that no matter what folks think, you can do whatever it is your mind is set to do, and you can do it well.

They still have a few weeks left.  I highly suggest you go see them, rock out, and pick up their merch.  They have their 7″ single, and a cassette of their long sold out full length album, as well as T-shirts and buttons.   I’ve included their U.S. tour poster here; they still have gigs spread out over the U.S.

You can keep up with them on Facebook, or visit their website here.