Sigur Ros Goes Acoustic Pop
The Icelandic media darlings hit us with their fifth studio album. Will it stack up to their acclaimed catalog?
Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros got together back in 1994. The band's name was taken from the name of signer/guitarist Jonsi Birgisson's sister Sigur Ros, or "Victory Rose" in English. Soon after forming, they were signed to a record contract by Bad Taste. In 1998, after the release of Von brigoi, the band added a member with actual musical training. Keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson jumped on board and since has been responsible for most of the use of strings and orchestral arrangements in the band's music. In 2002, drummer Agust Gunnarsson left the band and was replaced by Orri Pall Dyrason, setting in place the lineup that has now released four albums.
The first release by Sigur Ros, Von, was a heavily produced effort that the band actually almost completely scrapped. That idea was abandoned, however, when they considered how long the album had been in production in the first place. Abandoning the produced version would have cost them more time. Upon release, Von received a moderate reception by critics but only sold just over three hundred copies in Iceland during the first year following its release. Eventually the band got what they wanted and re-mixed the album. The new version was released as Von brigoi in 1998.
The band got international attention after the release of their second album, Ágætis byrjun. Critics loved it, and the attention got them gigs supporting acts like Radiohead. Their songs also started getting used in television and films. This album was also the point at which Sigur Ros became known for Jonsi's style of playing his guitar using a cellist's bow. The sound, with added reverb, is something that's completely unique with electric guitar.
The follow-up to 1999's critically acclaimed Ágætis byrjun was ( ). ( ) was a bit of a departure for the band. Stylistically, it's similar to all of their other music, but this one is a conceptual album. It has two distinct halves, represented visually by each half of the parentheses, the first half is lighter and hopeful while the second half is darker and more melancholy. The two halves are separated aurally by thirty-six seconds of silence. This album was the band's first one to completely abandon Icelandic lyrics, instead using Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"), which resembles scat singing. Like its predecessor, ( ) was met with critical acclaim.
Sigur Ros' most recent album, Takk... was released internationally in September of 2005. On Takk... the band returned to the use of Icelandic lyrics, occasionally returning to Volenska. Takk... continued to garner attention from both critics and the wider music community. The album received three Icelandic Music Awards in 2006, and helped to cement the band in their place internationally as one of the best known Icelandic acts.
Almost three years after the release of Takk..., Sigur Ros is poised to invade our ear canals once again. The new album, Med sud i eyrum vid spilum end (With a buzz in our ears, we play endlessly), is for the most part, poppier. The difference that can be heard from an initial listen to a few of the tracks is that the album seems to be a bit more heavily produced than their earlier efforts. "Gobbledigook" in particular has almost no head room, but this is really more a function of the state of the industry rather than a specific trait of the album.
Overall Recommendation: If you're a fan of Sigur Ros already, you'll be happy with their latest effort. If you're not already into them, Med sud i eyrum vid spilum end won't change your opinion, no matter if they went a little pop on us.
Posted by Cory Roop on Jun 23, 2008 @ 1:00 am
