Benny Crespo's Gang

There's nothing modest about Benny Crespo's Gang. Consisting of four very different individuals, the band's dynamic mixture of over the top hard rock and eerie synth powered lullabies is truly unique and haunting. They have often been described as one of the most interesting bands in Iceland, and with good reason. Benny Crespo’s Gang’s self-titled 2007 début was gobbled up by local rock-enthusiasts and received top marks from all who reviewed it. Their legendary live shows have consistently made new fans out of anyone who happens to be in the vicinity, and their much-hyped performances at the Iceland Airwaves and Aldrei fór ég suður festivals have earned them fans from all over the world and positive reviews in publications such as NME and Clash Magazine. The band is currently plotting further steps towards world domination and plan to tour the world extensively. Here's what the Icelandic music press had to say about Benny Crespo's Gang's first LP, released in 2007: "It is very hard for me not to over-praise this band's debut." 4,5/5 DV (Icelandic Daily Newspaper) - Andri Freyr Viðarsson "Benny Crespo's Gang's debut is without doubt one of the better albums of this year and a must-have for rock-enthusiasts." 4,5/5 Ísafold (Icelandic Magazine) - Björn Stefánsson "As far as i'm concerned, the race for the Icelandic Album of the Year was over the day Benny Crespo's Gang ended a three-year recording process and released their self-titled debut." Grapevine (Reykjavík's English Language Magazine) - Sveinn Birkir Björnsson "The album exceeded my expectations and is not about to leave the CD-player any time soon. Clearly one of the better albums of this year!" 96% Monitor (Icelandic Magazine) - Hildur Maral Hamíðsdóttir Benny Crespo's Gang was nominated for the Rock Album of the Year, Best New Comers and People's Choice at the Icelandic Music Awards 2007. Without getting into too much detail about the band's live performances, here's what the press has to say: "Mixing searing rock with eerie Portishead palpable lulls under tender female vocalisations, they raised the bar to yet another level and sent a note of promise to their future international careers." - Live review by Matthew Bennet - Clash Magazine "[...] While Benny Crespo's Gang demonstrated real potential beyond the island's scene. Combining urgent synths and driving, impassioned rock, their twin boy-girl vocalists saw them swap between moments both Biffy Clyro and Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) would be proud of." - Live review - NME Festivals Benny Crespo's Gang have performed at include: Iceland Airwaves Festival (Iceland 2005, 2006, 2007,2008) I Never Went South (Iceland 2007, 2008) Lunga Art Festival (Iceland 2007) Benny Crespo's Gang are playing: South By South West SXSW (Austin Texas march 2009) Instrumentation Helgi Runar sings and plays the guitar Lovisa Elisabet sings, plays guitar and keys Bassi Olafsson plays drums and sampler Magnus Øder sings, plays bass and keys Discography They released there self titled debut album fall 2007 in Iceland. Sold over 1.000 copy's ( In Iceland gold is 5.000 copy's) Nominated album of the year at the Icelandic music awards 2007. They have had four singles in radio airplay and all have hit top ten most played on the rock/alternative radio stations in Iceland. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.