With any discussion of Sigur Ros comes what feels like a universe of baggage – they seem to bring out the nascent art critic in every one of their listeners. Somewhere along the line, listeners must decide whether or not the method employed is worth the resultant madness. Before any ink is spilled on the merit of their songs, song craft, or place in the ever blossoming “post rock” movement, a contrarians vial sprawls across the paper regarding how the songs were devised.
Are there really no titles? Do the lyrics mean anything in any real language?
They are the ultimate band for the lay person to explore process with – their newest release, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, is no different (although at least now the fear of songs with missing titles has been averted). Translated as, “with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly”, Med Sud is a step closer to a light of pop sensibility for a band that seemed allergic to giving easy points access. It’s undeniably sweet with two songs – the ironically titled, “Gobbldgook” and “Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur” – to open the record with breathless reveries that soon become a trend. These are some of the first Sigur Ros songs to utilize a quick catch of the ear of passers by, and they build on that throughout. “Ara Batur” eventually builds into a triumph of over 90 musicians, but it begins in a simple piano; the blue melancholia of “All Right”, the album’s swan song is their first sung in English. The scope and ambition are there, but it is patiently executed. Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is perhaps a smaller record than before – certainly dwarfed in scale by the almost mythic Takk…and its predecessors. There is a litter of strong, powerful songs, but they’re built differently now. There are intricacies in each nook of it, distinct instruments and isolated vocals, with nothing lost in its continually grandiose sweep: it’s a record Sigur Ros seemed to need to make.
While ( ) seemed out to prove the depths of gloaming in the human heart, and Ageatis Byrjun the soaring new hopes, this one is content to do a similar act to what’s depicted on its cover: run free of encumbrance, over the fence, into the lea on a sunny day. It seems completely content with quiet triumphs.
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