The Cabinets' bass guitarist Jóhann Jónsdóttir drowned on January 2, 2003 after he apparently stumbled drunkenly onto a frozen pond behind his family's house in Kópavogur, which cracked under his weight and spilt apart. He fell through the ice, and sadly the two other band members that were with him at the time of the accident, lead singer Jónas Sveinsson and keyboardist Friðjón Halldóruson, were unable to rescue his body through the darkness and freezing water.
After the incident, the band released a statement saying that they were disbanding, citing the difficulty of carrying on after the tragic death of Jóhann.
The Cabinets had recently struck a deal to record their debut LP for Royal Family Records. It was tentatively titled "Meet the Cabinets," a reference to the Beatles' album "Meet the Beatles."