Review: New Sigur Rós

Another music review from Craig Gidney. This time he reviews the new album by gay-fronted Icelandic band Sigur Rós, the unpronouncable Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, or in English, With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly.

I saw Sigur Ros a few years ago at the 9:30 Club, when they were touring in support of their space rock masterpiece, ( ). (Editor's note: Yes, the name of the album was the open- and close-parenthesis marks. Yet another unpronouncable record. Thanks, guys!) It was the only time I've been at the 9:30 Club where there was absolute silence. No clinking beer glasses, no rowdy frat boys. It was almost like a religious experience. 2 hours of glacial music, with abstract images cast on a screen. I don't even think Dead Can Dance inspired such reverence. Ever since ( ), the boys in the band have tried to balance pop craft with their arty otherworldliness.

Sigur Ros play a brand of postrock that is heavily influenced by 'ethereal' music. Ethereal music usually features dense, shimmering atmospheric layers of sound, often generated by heavily effected guitars, melodies that reference classical music, and angelic, frequently wordless vocals. It's a sound that can be a tad precious and pretentious, but Sigur Rós has a muscularity to their playing that mostly avoids those pratfalls. In earlier albums, openly gay tenor Jonsi Birgisson sang his songs in a mysterious, private language, a la Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) called "Hopelandic" On MSIEVPE, Sigur Ros hone their epic, majestic sound into pop songs… with hooks and lyrics in Icelandic. While the music has more form and is even has some sing-along melodies, it still sounds unearthly. "Gobbledigook," the first single, sounds like a cross between the Beach Boys and Gregorian monks. And while I can't be 100% sure, I suspect its Hopelandic rather than Icelandic. Other songs likewise aim for concision—producer Flood must have had an editorial hand in culling the most compelling compositions. Fans of the older, meandering artsongs, however, won't be disappointed. 'Festival; and 'Ara Batur' are suites that mix orchestral sounds with ambient passages that harken back to ( ).

Jonsi must have had some voice lessons. Where his falsetto tended to 'mewl,' there are passages where his voice simply soars like a boy soprano's. . MSIEVPE is a great album, and their most accessible work. It has a lighter feel, even though it is mostly lights-out, close-your-eyes music. Plus it has cool cover art: a Whitmanesque image of naked youths jumping over a fence in a bucolic field.


Other Editor's note: If you missed the gay-themed and heart-wrenching video from their first album, check it out here.