NCH, Dublin

Formerly a string quartet that enhanced even further the music of Sigur Ros, Iceland's Amiina have advanced from being known merely as an adjunct to becoming something quite substantial in their own right. The founding members of Hildur, Edda, Maria and Solrun (surnames will take up the rest of this review's word count!) began branching out from their association with Sigur Ros in 2007 with the release of their debut album, Kurr, a sublime blend of minimalism, contemporary classical, folktronic and ambient.

This well-attended gig focused more on the unit's forthcoming album, Puzzle, and boy, oh, boy was it downright gorgeous. With little in the way of chat, the women (along with two men, drummer Maggi and laptop tapper Kippi) produced largely untitled music that would have teetered close to the edge of pretentiousness were it not for the sense of melody and cohesion. Most of the tunes begin in a child-like, virtually haphazard manner across an array of instruments (including keyboard, violin, saw), but gradually evolve into a wonderfully concise, interconnected whole that alternates between dream state lullabies and undulating crescendos. At the end of the show, we are thanked for "being such a lovely bunch of audience". Well, thank you, Amiina, for being such a lovely bunch of music.