Stilluppsteypa — Schokolino Choco Loco
[Futura Resistenza — 2025]★★★★★
Reviewed 4 June 2025by Paul Casey
Challenging audiences for four decades, Icelandic duo Stilluppsteypa has delivered their newest LP, Schokolino Choco Loco, via Futura Resistenza. Experimental but very accessible, this duo creates an engaging composition of electronic indulgence that, while hard to put one's finger on, never gets unwieldy or overly bizarre. Its almost dreamlike construction allows the listener to get lost in its many tones, folds, drones, and layers, changing with each successive spin. Always playing to the brighter side of experimentation, Schokolino Choco Loco is a whimsical bit of electronics that will bring a smile to many faces.
Spanning eleven tracks, there is much for listeners to latch on to during Schokolino Choco Loco's runtime. Although experimental at its core, the main focus here is listenability, with its experimentation challenging established structures and listening styles. Often, Stilluppsteypa plays very familiar, easily accessible melodies, giving the listener a solid foothold into their work. The beauty lies in how the duo shifts and moves to, from, or all around this, changing the expected outcome. Tonally, the album is a good mix of upbeat, bright pieces and moderately darker droning works, which keep the album moving on its own and shows the diversity in Stilluppsteypa's style. For the upbeat pieces, the duo is able to keep it fun and experimental without it being unserious, each track works very well within its confines and never feels disingenuous. The droning pieces reinforce the gravity of the lighter works, showing solidarity between the two worlds, two sides of the same coin. One major thing that both parts champion is the dreamlike quality that grows thick on each track. Gauzy and light, the duo is able to mark their work with a patina that doesn't affect the sounds beneath, but rather uses this haze to give the songs an otherworldly quality. This makes one feel like they're listening to the album through a strange speaker, giving them a look at an intriguing new world, one like our own but just different enough to notice. It also bolsters up a sense of nostalgia and the tracks here start to be associated with memories, furthering one's attachment to the album.
Schokolino Choco Loco plays very quickly, and its dreamlike construction almost makes it feel subconscious. Because of this, it will often be absorbed more than listened to, and that's ok! Just hit play and let it spin again. Albums are designed to be listened to, sure, but there's something about an album that can be experienced without even knowing it, then matching up how the songs make you feel after a proper listen. This is an album that will change for the listener over time, so it's recommended to check it out and revisit it when the mood strikes. For more