Track Listing
01. Gobbledigook
02. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
03. Goðan Daginn
04. Við Spilum Endalaust
05. Festival
06. Með Suð Ì Eyrum
07. Ára Bátur
08. Illgresi
09. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright

What an amazing album. That is, if you don’t mind lyrics sung in another language, and long, sweepingly rapturous tracks consisting of lush instrumental sections and oddly comforting vocals. That is the bulk of the latest from Sigur Rós, Með Suð Ì Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, an album which simply glows. “Gobbledigook,” the album’s first single (and the most pop-ish track Sigur Rós have ever recorded), got my attention while playing on a local indie radio station, and I immediately got the entire CD. I was already a fan, and I wasn’t disappointed by this, the band's eighth full-length effort.

Not only is the album musically impressive, it’s technically impressive as well. Recorded in five separate locations, ranging from Iceland, the band’s homeland, to New York to Cuba, each track is layered with precise and challenging elements such as trumpet arpeggios, tight vocal harmonies, and up to 60 instruments playing in synch. (The version of “Ára Bátur” heard on the CD is hardly altered; it’s an original recording with little studio modification, recorded live in one take. Between its instrumentalists and vocalists, it consists of the synchronized performance of over 80 people.)

The soft immediacy of singer Jón þor Birgisson’s vocals wraps the listener in a blanket of calm and warmth on “Góðan Daginn,” while echoing brushed symbols and twinkling chimes conjure images of snow falling. “Illgresi,” a similar track, features a single fluid acoustic guitar topped with Birgisson’s singing. The two entwine with violin and flow along like a stream, meandering and soothing.

“Festival,” the album’s longest track (clocking in at 9:24), begins sparsely, with only floating vocals and thin orchestral backing, which continue for over four minutes. But in this case, ‘sparse,’ and ‘thin,’ are not negatives. Rather, these qualities serve to create a particular kind of haunting, striking musical landscape. When drums and guitar enter, vocals cut out, and the song begins its laborious climb. One can’t help but wonder what the eventual crescendo will sound like. First violins ease in, and then vocals return, followed by manic pounding drums and layers of harmony. The song resolves to its majestic plateau around 7:30, soaring along and pulling the listener to a splendid resolve.

If you’ve missed the numerous commercials, clips, and promotions featuring their music, and have never heard Sigur Rós, this is a great album to start with. You’ll probably know by the middle of the first track, “Gobbledigook,” whether you’re going to like their style, but I suggest giving the rest of the album a listen. It’s the type of music that grows on you, the type of music that you can’t absorb in just one go. Like the harsh but beautiful landscape of their homeland, full of nuance and amazing textures, tiny wonders and sweeping expanses, Sigur Rós requires time to be appreciated.

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