Under The Fretboard: KALEO

Happy New Year, Blues Rock Review readers! To usher in 2026, Under the Fretboard journeys to Iceland to find the most streamed band of the series to date (over 2 billion streams), one well known in indie circles but still relatively undiscovered in the blues rock landscape. In addition to streaming platforms, KALEO has built an extensive presence in film and television. Their YouTube library reads like a travel magazine, featuring dramatic performance backdrops ranging from volcanoes and icebergs to the shadow of the Colosseum in Rome.

The band was hand-picked by the Rolling Stones to open for them during their No Filter tour. Larkin Poe and Marcus King have opened for KALEO on recent tours, while Joe Bonamassa has been a vocal supporter, championing the band as modern torchbearers of the blues rock genre. Let’s explore this budding powerhouse with Icelandic blood and a Delta heart.

KALEO – Sweaty, Grit-Stained Blues Rock from the Frozen Landscapes of Iceland

In an interview with Rolling Stone, frontman Jökull Júlíusson (also known as JJ or JJ Julius Son) explained, “Growing up I was listening to a lot of American music and blues artists and such, and that was what kind of connected us.” “Us” refers to childhood friends and bandmates Daniel Kristjánsson (bass) and Davíð Antonsson (drums). JJ (vocals and guitar) and his friends first connected in the small town of Mosfellsbær, just outside Reykjavík. Guitarist Rubin Pollock joined the band in 2012, while Þorleifur Gaukur Davíðsson (keys, harmonica, and pedal steel guitar) would later round out the group after initially contributing in a collaborative role.

KALEO is Hawaiian for “the voice” or “the sound.” Iceland quickly discovered the band excelled at both, as they rose rapidly from local venues and festivals to signing with Sena, Iceland’s primary record label. Powered by JJ’s voice, think a mix of Eddie Vedder and a gravel-throated Jim Morrison, with the ability to hit high notes reminiscent of Michael Jackson, their self-titled 2013 debut album KALEO produced five domestic number-one singles. Many of these tracks would later appear on more widely distributed releases.

There are references to an EP released around the same time titled Glasshouse, though it is difficult to source whether this was a pre-release promo or a follow-up driven by the success of KALEO. The standout track “Vor í Vaglaskógi” is a haunting interpretation of an Icelandic folk standard and has amassed over 55 million streams. While the album itself remains hard to find outside Iceland, it helped build international momentum by blending folk, blues, and roots rock into something that felt older than its creators. In 2015, the band signed with Atlantic Records and relocated to Austin, Texas, placing them closer to their musical roots.

KALEO’s international breakthrough came with 2016’s A/B, an album that didn’t just introduce the band to the world, it exploded. Recorded in Iceland, Spain, and London, its tracks meander between soft, emotional tones and heavy blues rock jams. “Way Down We Go” became the song that carried KALEO into the mainstream, reaching number one on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart and remaining their most popular track with over 1.5 billion streams. Its power lies in how unmodern it feels. Carried by JJ’s wounded delivery, the song evokes spirituals as much as contemporary rock.

The track resonated strongly enough to catch Hollywood’s attention, becoming a sync staple across television. It appeared in series such as Grey’s Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, Riverdale, Lucifer, Supergirl, Suits, Teen Wolf, The Blacklist, Blindspot, Training Day, The Night Shift, This Is Us, and Underground, as well as trailers and promos for Orange Is the New Black, Empire, The Good Fight, Quantico, The Leftovers, and the film Logan. When Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese personally selected “No Good” for the HBO series Vinyl, it demanded attention. The song blends classic blues menace into a modern rock framework without sanding off its teeth.

Earlier tracks such as “Vor í Vaglaskógi,” “Glass House,” and “Broken Bones” gained global exposure through their inclusion on A/B. “Broken Bones” channels Delta blues, written from the perspective of a 19th-century enslaved person, while “Hot Blood” leans into classic rock swagger. “All the Pretty Girls” was released as a single and peaked at number nine on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs chart, helping build momentum ahead of the album’s release. Alongside “Save Yourself” and “I Can’t Go On Without You,” these songs bring softer, emotionally stirring elements to the album’s spectrum. A/B earned KALEO a 2016 Billboard Music Award for Top New Rock Artist and a 2017 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance for “No Good.”

After erupting onto the scene like an Icelandic volcano, the band toured the globe, playing well over 250 shows between 2016 and 2017. That same year, they released a two-track EP, Spotify Singles, recorded at Spotify Studios, featuring fresh versions of “All the Pretty Girls” and “Way Down We Go,” both of which have surpassed 50 million streams.

Recording for the next album was nearly complete when the global pause of 2020 struck. As a teaser, the band released a series of singles, “Backbone,” “Break My Baby,” and “Alter Ego,” along with live recordings to satisfy an eager fan base. “Alter Ego” is a straightforward rocker, while “Break My Baby” continues seamlessly after A/B, carrying forward the driving, unrefined energy that defines KALEO’s brand of blues rock. “Backbone” opens as a slow, haunting tale of someone who has lost their way before closing with the anthemic refrain, “Where’s your backbone, brother?”

Surface Sounds was eventually released in 2021. While the album drew mixed reviews due to the high bar set by A/B, it still found success with the aforementioned singles and standout tracks like “Brother Run Fast,” “Free the Slave,” and the funky, lighter “Gringo.” “Skinny” is an angst-driven rocker addressing societal expectations placed on women’s bodies. Like its predecessor, Surface Sounds weaves in softer tracks such as the acoustic “My Fair Lady,” the melodic ballad with an anthemic finish “I Walk on Water,” and the streaming hit “I Want More.” KALEO had already proven they could write massive, emotionally heavy songs. What this album does is expand the range, introducing more groove, rhythm, and flirtation with soul and even pop, while remaining anchored by JJ’s voice and the band’s blues foundation.

In March 2024, KALEO traveled to Rome for a live concert stream titled Viva Roma – In the Shadow of the Colosseum, a one-night-only event featuring their most popular songs, including “Way Down We Go” and “No Good.” A feature-length documentary concert film blending live performances with insightful interviews and exclusive backstage footage was released in theaters later that fall. Streaming editions followed in late 2025 and are available through the band’s video site as either a short-term rental or permanent purchase. The theatrical trailer and select performances can also be found on YouTube, including “Way Down We Go” and “Lonely Cowboy” from their forthcoming album.

Mixed Emotions, the band’s fourth studio album, was released in May 2025. Following their meteoric rise, the album reflects a more reflective, nothing-to-prove attitude, with a less troubled tone. JJ has described it as a response to life, society, and roots, both musical and personal. That framing fits. Mixed Emotions allows space for ambiguity. The blues here isn’t just about pain or grit; it’s about survival, memory, and emotional inheritance.

Songs like “Bloodline” and “Run No More” continue KALEO’s cinematic Americana blues rock signature, while “Rock N Roller” and “Backdoor” deliver fast-paced classic rock with introspective lyrical undercurrents. The pre-release single “USA Today,” written in 2019, is a brooding statement on gun violence and societal desensitization, a message that remains painfully relevant years later. Lines like “Loaded gun in your face, no one needs to know your name” give way to the closing hope of “hoping it might change in the USA today.”

As with earlier releases, softer, more reflective tracks such as “The Good Die Young,” the inspirational anthem “Legacy,” and “Memoirs” are present but feel more prominent here, with the cinema-ready “Lonely Cowboy” leading the way. The album closes with the Icelandic lullaby “Sofðu Unga Ástin Mín,” offering proof that music can be felt deeply without understanding the lyrics.

As the band gears up for the 10-year anniversary world tour of A/B, the past decade has seen KALEO occupy a complicated yet fascinating place in modern blues rock. They are not American, yet they are deeply rooted in the legacy of Delta blues and Americana. Rather than treating the blues as nostalgic window dressing, KALEO uses it as an emotional syntax, one capable of speaking across languages, borders, and generations.

In that sense, KALEO functions less as a revivalist act and more as a translation. Their music asks what happens when the blues travels, when it leaves its birthplace and echoes somewhere cold, isolated, and far from its original soil. In KALEO’s case, it becomes music that feels both ancient and unsettled, familiar and estranged. Under the fretboard, beneath the production gloss and cinematic placements, KALEO is a band built on listening. Listening to history, to nature, and to the long shadow cast by songs that refuse to stay where they were born. That may be their greatest strength of all.