The concept behind Sigur Ros is simple. They are a traditional and modern band in thesense that they write and record albums at an increasingly dramatic pace and millions of listeners worldwide buy their records.
Lyrically, the songs themes range from the simplistic [Hopping in Puddles] to the ethereal[Sleepwalkers], from the new [The First Song] to the old [The Death Song]. Most of thesesongs follow a traditional verse-chorus-bridge pattern and each of Sigur Ros’ 5 LPs are amanageable forty-five to sixty minutes apiece.
What makes this band stand out among the drove of other bands is also simple: the music sounds good. Often times, new buzzy bands and even established ones will overthink,overproduce, or otherwise mangle a perfectly good concept with excess noise, lyrics, orconcepts. Often forgotten is the concept of an overall sound; an astute listener will find thata clearly defined sound can even make up for shaky lyrics or underproduction. Sigur Ros excels here best on their 4th LP, 2005’s Takk.
As the pace of this album will dictate, a full listen is incomplete without a properintroduction, to prepare the sound delicately. Title track “Thanks…” transitions its bass-heavy guitar loops into the brilliant “Glowing Soul.” Driven by bass, the track slowly buildsto an almighty crescendo that bursts into a more atmospheric “Hopping in Puddles.”The profound transition between the two tracks allows the album to progress in severalways; with an overall mood established the band has the creative green light to exploreother faster or slower tempi, higher or lower frequencies, and grind out 10 minute epicslike “Milan,” and infuse a grand string section on “Zephyr.” It radiates of flying away on arainy day.
Takk… is available now in Icelandic at your local record store.