Sigur Rós
http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk

styles: experimental rock, post-rock, space rock, dream pop, space rock
others: Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mum

Saeglópur EP
Geffen, 2006
rating: 3/5
reviewer: olskooly

Despite any misgivings one may have about the voice of Sigur Rós lyricist Jon Thor Birgisson, there is no denying that his band crafts consistently strong, melodic tunes that resonate with unbridled energy. Birgisson's vocals frequently sound like the vocal stylings of Thom Yorke, Maximilian Hecker, and Coldplay's Chris Martin synthesized and reduced to their most cloying characteristics. To make things even more difficult, Birgisson has seemingly accepted the torch from Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, singing many, if not most, of Sigur Rós' songs in a glossolaliac, nonsensical croon, improvising the vocals, perhaps, to complement the band's music. And like Cocteau Twins, Sigur Rós create the kind of records your pseudo-hip girlfriend will borrow immediately prior to breaking up with you. It's beautiful, inarguably listenable, and emotionally overwrought music that could easily serve as the soundtrack to any given day of your life.

The Saeglópur single, the first domestic EP released in conjunction with Sigur Rós' 2005 full-length, Takk..., contains three non-album tracks in addition to "Saeglópur" and is accompanied by a separate DVD containing three videos from that record as well. Omitting only the track "Hafol," and adding the video for "Saeglópur," this EP is nearly identical to the band's Japan-only tour EP released earlier this year and was presumably released to make these tracks more accessible to those too scrupulous to illegally download them. Like Radiohead, Sigur Rós demonstrate with this EP that their B-sides are frequently as strong, if not stronger, than their proper album cuts. Though perhaps not as fully realized as the bulk of Takk, the three included outtakes, "Refur," "Ó Fridur," and "Kafari," are each evocative and sumptuously produced in their own right.

Furthermore, these three outtakes add continuity to the mood established by "Saeglópur," the EP's lead-off track. Like many of the band's previous B-sides, two of these new pieces are instrumentals (only the gravely sentimental "Ó Fridur" contains vocals). "Refur" is a short and beautifully Chopin-esque piano sonata augmented by almost inaudibly subtle incidental noise relegated deep into the background of the track. "Ó Fridur" begins with dense, leaden string swells, which build in intensity before Birgisson's moody falsetto enters the mix. This piece, in particular, is an extraordinarily uplifting counterpart to the EP's title track. The final non-album cut, "Kafari," evokes the essence of childhood with its music box melody and lighthearted charm.

These outtakes do indeed sound like they were recorded concurrently with the tracks on Takk The production, overall mood, and atmospheric scraping effects prominent on these pieces are also redolent of the tracks from the recent LP. On the whole, this EP serves as a concise and somewhat enlightening appendix to Takk, although for the sake of the completists out there, it's baffling that the band included all of the tracks except one from the Japanese tour EP. In any case, these B-sides offer some welcome insight into Sigur Rós' Takk period.

The three videos compiled on the DVD portion of the EP are typically impressive Sigur Rós fare. As anyone familiar with the band's earlier videos can imagine, each involves the band's obsession with youth. "Saeglópur" approximates a child's nightmare rather frighteningly and not inaccurately. "Glósóli" and "Hoppípolla" are strangely beautiful and heartwarming videos that will bring a smile to your face in spite of yourself. Every time this band releases something new, they seem to go further toward transcending the indie hype that has plagued them since 1999's Ágætis Byrjun.

1. Saeglópur
2. Refur
3. Ó Fridur
4. Kafari
5. Saeglópur (video)
6. Glósóli (video)
7. Hoppípolla (video)

Takk...
Geffen, 2005
rating: 4/5
reviewer: keith kawaii + mr p


Keith Kawaii: Takk probably won't ruin any fan's love for Sigur Rós. But I might as well play devil's advocate here. There's one thing about the band that I didn't really notice, or mind, much before this album, and that's the lack of harmonic variation. Takk is pretty, with an inevitable abundance of saccharine melodies soaked in color chords and cloudy ambience. Is it ok if I use the word 'glacial'? Well, I shouldn't have expected any different. It's Sigur Rós for the love of christ. The problem is, every time one of their life-affirming crescendos starts to kick in, I keep wishing for a crunchy patch of dissonance to save me from the repetition.

Mr P: I agree with you; someone needs to buy Sigur Rós a wrench. Although the songs on Takk can be quite 'moving,' it's getting harder to be convinced that these harmonic progressions are life-affirming at all. With such unrelenting emotional outpouring, I wonder how much is written through inspiration and how much is simply 'going through the motions.' Perhaps I'm a bit jaded on the Sigur Rós formula, but the limited harmonic variation also limits my reaction as a listener. It's hard to feel anything when you realize what you're 'supposed' to feel like. That said, it's not often a group can pull off this overwrought music without sounding completely derivative. Sigur Rós are still significant, but Takk sounds safe to me. I actually enjoyed their Ba Ba tangent.

Keith Kawaii: So we both agree, eh? You know, I would say the Rós are losing personal relevance to us, more than they are losing their musical edge. The point being that, aside from a few overtly 'poppy' moments on the new album, nothing much has changed in the harmonic territory. Maybe in 50 years we'll all look at this kind of impressionistic rock like we do 12 bar blues. It's the formula I've got beef with, so is superimposing that scruple onto a band's vision fair? All complaints considered, Takk is probably their most complete and well-produced album. When taking each song individually, well, some work better than expected and some just seem pointless. After a few listens, I've started mentally dividing the the tracks into 'necessary' and 'unnecessary' categories. Fun, right? For example, I find "Glósóli" and even the sugar coated "Hoppipolla" necessary steps in Sigur Rós' musical... um... journey. A song like "Saeglopur" just seems to go through the motions, like you mentioned.

Mr P: Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily say they've lost their musical edge ("Glósóli" serves as a nice testament), but its Takk's slight inhibition that keeps me in my seat. Of course, there's nothing wrong with Sigur Rós settling in to a sound they enjoy playing — it's not our job to tell them how to write songs — plus, they have definitely mastered the tonal world they've created. I can't help but listen in awe during the climactic moments on the album, no matter how predictable they may be. But I guess mastery and refinement aren't that interesting to me, personally. I do think, however, that Sigur Rós' sound after this album will start shifting toward a new direction, especially because the string quartet they play with, Anima, are heading off on their own musical career. Consequently, Sigur Rós will have the choice of trying to replace them or trying to work without them. In either case, despite our meticulous gripes, I think Takk makes for an ultimately satisfying end to their work with Anima (their importance is shown in "Andvari" and "Sé Lest"), and I can only imagine that these songs will sound much better in a live setting.

Keith Kawaii: Right on, brother.

1. Takk...
2. Glósóli
3. Hoppípolla
4. Meo Blódnasir
5. Sé Lest
6. Saeglopur
7. Milanó
8. Gong
9. Andvari
10. Svo Hljótt
11. Heysátan

Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do EP
Geffen, 2004
rating: 4/5
reviewer: gretel


I almost wanted things to go sour this time. A total lack of innovation, an album too similar or too removed from Ágætis Byrjun and (), maybe a bombastic album without any real depth. Better to fuck up now on an EP than on a full-length, right? Plus, the criticism might have done Sigur Rós some good: negating their sense of indestructibility, pushing forth another facet of the band, and forging a new path toward greatness. With the release of the Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do EP (the music written for Merce Cunningham's split sides dance piece), I am left with no option but to be jarred by the idiocy and absurdity of such a thought.

While Radiohead, who also provided music for Cunningham, opted not to release what they played, Sigur Rós chose to capitalize on the moment. The three sections, "Ba Ba," "Ti Ki," and "Di Do," are, theoretically, constructed so that they may be played in any order, but the order the EP title suggests seems to work best. "Ba Ba" begins with a gentle glockenspiel and a "bummsett," which is a homemade percussive instrument made of eight ballet shoes. Sure, the idea may teeter on the pretentious side at first, but the overall effect really is impressive. Like many Sigur Rós songs, however, it drones on for quite a while before going anywhere. Luckily, when it does reach its climax, it does so in an effortlessly elegant crescendo that makes the droning parts more than worthwhile.

"Ti Ki," likewise, does this, only here the glockenspiel and bummsett duet lasts far longer. What sounds like a backing tape occasionally drops in a wrinkled sound, which, although very interesting, sounds a lot like what a microphone sounds like when dropped during recording. Here, too, the crescendo is very effective; at first rising only a trifle and soon after subduing again, so as to create a Wagner-like tension, only to be broken by the final, true crescendo.

It is the closer, however, "Di Do," which provides the most release and is also the most rewarding. Remnants from "Ti Ki" spill over for a short while, but then the song turns away from the direction of the previous two songs. A chanting voice oscillates from channel to channel, and, scattered, the words, "Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do" are repeated. Suspense has always been an integral part of Sigur Rós music, but here it is at perhaps its most effective and inspiring. The glockenspiel and bummsett rise alongside the deranged chanting, and as if that weren't enough, deafening feedback is launched forth like a rock from a catapult, shattering the composure of the whole song and of the whole EP. For, although both "Ba Ba" and "Ti Ki" presented climaxes to bring the songs to life, "Di Do" makes it seem as though they were both holding back on us.

Although only an EP, Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do proves once again that Sigur Rós is capable of amazing things, embodying all that was great about their past, all that is promising today, while hinting towards things to come in the dawn of a brighter morrow. And now that Radiohead has moved on from Kid A and Amnesiac, Sigur Rós may also be finally able to escape the tiring comparisons between them. Things are looking pretty sunny in Iceland.

1. Ba Ba
2. Ti Ki
3. Di Do