Sigur Ros – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Enadalaust – Beggars – 2008

One of the higher profile releases so far this year is certainly this new album from Iceland’s Sigur Ros. The kings of dramatic, atmospheric pop have taken a bit of a change in direction on this album, with a few more focused numbers, but largely retains their sweet natured charm of their dramatic soundscapes and they deliver a very solid record.

The first song on the album, “Gobbledigook”, was the the first one released to the masses as it was available as a free download on their site a few weeks before the album came out. The song really caught everyone off guard as being a more directed and less dramatic/epic kind of song from these guys possibly signifying a large change in direction on the new record. I think this album brings a healthy mix of both though, there are songs that are more directed, and there are songs that wander and explore, and they co-exist on the record quite well. Where the beginning of the record is kind of like a shot of energy from the band, the record begins to explore and wander more as it progresses, leaving the most dramatic and epic passages of the album for the final songs.

The result is that the most memorable and interesting sounding songs sit at the beginning of the album, and a lot of the rest of the album becomes a very dreamy, slow, dramatic outro for the record. It creates a very interesting contrast in the styles on the record, but I find myself much more drawn to the opening parts than the ending parts, because I think they are more appealing songs. There is a lot more instrumental variation in the opening tracks as well, with a lot of the finishing songs consisting largely of slow piano riffs and falsetto vocals. It does result in some nice songs with a very dramatic effect, but I think the innovation and creativity on the album largely happens in the first half of it, with the last half being much like a dreamy blur.

I think the album is quite good, and really does take you on a sort of journey musically, where you feel almost whisked away to their homeland, with dreamy melodies darting in and out as you listen through the record. While I think it does extremely well of building this beautiful soundscape, I think the album does kind of lose you at some points, and sometimes fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. Those moments are largely few and far between however and they have created another great dreamy pop record here. While it may not completely blow you away, it remains as a beautifully orchestrated, dramatic album that shines in many places.

BV Rate: 84

They are on a gigantic tour all over the world this summer/fall so make sure and check them out:

06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany – Southside Festival
06-22 Scheeßel, Germany – Hurricane Festival
06-24 London, England – Westminster Methodist Central Hall
06-28 Reykjavík, Iceland – TBA *
07-05 Werchter, Belgium – Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France – Main Square Festival
07-08 Vienna, Austria – Arena
07-09 Lausanne, Switzerland – Les Docks
07-11 Florence, Italy – Giardino di Boboli
07-12 Rome, Italy – Cavea Auditorium
07-13 Milan, Italy – Arena Civica
07-14 Zurich, Switzerland – Volkhaus
07-17 Benicàssim, Spain – Benicàssim Festival
07-19 Southwold, England – Latitude Festival
08-01 Melbourne, Australia – Festival Hall
08-02 Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavilion
08-03 Byron Bay, Australia – Splendour in the Grass
08-07 Oslo, Norway – Øya Festival
08-08 Gothenburg, Sweden – Way Out West
08-09 Copenhagen, Denmark – Beat Day Festival
08-11 Cologne, Germany – Palladium
08-12 Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof
08-13 Berlin, Germany – Tempodrum
08-15 Saint-Malo, France – La Route du Rock Festival
08-17 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08-18 Dresden, Germany – Alter Schlachthof
08-19 Prague, Czech Republic – Arena HC Sparta Praha
08-20 Warsaw, Poland – Palladium
08-22 Riga, Latvia – Arena
08-24 Helsinki, Finland – Kulttuuritalo
08-26 St. Petersburg, Russia – TYUZ Theatre
08-27 Moscow, Russia – B1
08-29 Stradbally, Ireland – Electric Picnic Festival
08-31 Argyll, Scotland – Hydro Connect Festival
09-17 New York, NY – United Palace Theatre
09-18 New York, NY – United Palace Theatre
09-19 Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavillion
09-20 Montreal, Quebec – Quai Jacques Cartier
09-22 Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
09-23 Detroit, MI – Fillmore
09-24 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
09-25 Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum
09-27 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09-28 Salt Lake City, UT – Great Saltair
09-30 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
10-01 San Diego, CA – Copley Symphony Hall
10-02 Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
10-03 Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
10-05 Seattle, WA – Benaroya Hall
10-06 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Theatre
10-07 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Chan Centre
10-22 Nagoya, Japan – Geijyutsu Hall
10-24 Osaka, Japan – Koseinenkin Hall
10-26 Tokyo, Japan – Forum

Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook – From Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust