From Iceland — Sigur Rós

Published July 11, 2008

Sigur Rós’ new release mostly finds them moving away from their trademark ethereal soundscape of long build-ups, breakdowns and crescendos, towards a more traditional pop-song formula. It is also the first Sigur Rós album I’ve really enjoyed since Ágætis Byrjun. This album is simply a lot more fun than Sigur Rós has been in a long time. The spunky Inn í mér syngur vitleysingur is a serious diversion from the band’s recent work, but still ranks among their best songs, while Góðann daginn maintains certain elements of that unique Sigur Rós sound and considerable tension in song structure, but still comes in at around five minutes. Ára bátur, the band’s nine-minute long choir and orchestra exercise, really does not sound at home on this record, living with these songs, as gigantically arranged as it is, but Festival, another nine-minute long song in more traditional Sigur Rós form, avoids that fate and serves as a nice change of pace here.