Sigur Rós - Sigur Rós
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Free Music Notes for Sigur Rós
Free Music Review: ( )
Hit: 5 Stars
I really wanted to write a review of this album right after I heard it for the first time, but for once, I actually showed restraint. I decided to listen to it over and over - to immerse myself in it (for that is truly the only way to describe what happens to a listener who is in the grips of Sigur Ros) - before setting pen to paper, so to speak. The first time I listened to it, I would have rated it 5 stars and shouted out its gorgeous wunderability to any and all who would listen to me. And after listening to it for a couple of days, I like it even more. Ten times more. That's right, I rate this album 15 stars out of a possible 5. But perhaps I am building it up just a bit.
This is not, and will not be, everyone's cup of tea. That's why there are different flavors.
Believe me, if you buy this CD based on my gushing review, you can't be mad and say I didn't warn you. This is music of a kind you probably haven't heard much of before. It floats around you, fills in spaces that most music can't touch, and transports you to a different place in time, a time all at once beautiful, aching, emotional, and nostalgic. And all of this without the aid of words. For you see, as other reviewers have mentioned, the lead singer for Sigur Ros sings entirely in "Hopelandish", a self-invented language that mixes pure Icelandic with several other languages (I swear there's some English in there somewhere though...). This band is beyond pretentious and I still don't hate them.
In fact, the impossibility of "understanding" the lyrics on ( ) in a conventional manner of thought is, in one sense, what elevates Sigur Ros above so many other artists sculpting the same kind of music. Since nothing is understood, it's up to you to decide what is being said or not said, or, if all else fails, to just give yourself completely up to the sheer emotion of his high, pure voice. Vocals here are used as an instrument, like any other in the band, and together the combination is sheer aural pleasure.
But of course, there are people who will absolutely hate this album. My wife can't stand it and wishes I wouldn't play it because it drives her crazy. I still love her though, because she's a good person - and usually has better musical taste... There is a distinctively love/hate relationship built into the fibre of the music itself, because there is no way you could 'kind of' like or 'sort of' not like Sigur Ros, especially with ( ). All eight of the songs are Untitled and flow together into a wonderfully cohesive whole - and you're either completely with it or completely not. Pick a side. Please try and pick the right one though.
And now is the point where I wonder how I can possibly review a CD that has no real title and no song titles. It could get quite old quite fast for me to start comparing Untitled #1 with Untitled #6, even I would start to get confused at some point. But in a sense, that's the precise reason why the album works so well, without the distraction of song titles or 'real' lyrics, the album is almost like eight different parts of a single (and very modern, experimental) symphony. Personally, I believe you should listen the album all the way through. There are no singles here. They are not randomly placed on the disc either. They are meant to be heard, to experience the rolling waves of their progression to a loud and powerful conclusion. But if you don't have seventy minutes, and want a mellow, shorter version of the experience, listen to tracks one through four.
Very few bands can actually change the way you look at music and the way it can affect you emotionally. Sigur Ros is one of those bands. Unfortunately, they proclaim themselves to be one of those bands, have in fact declared that they will (or at least aspire to) change the face of music forever. Which, they probably won't, if for nothing else than the old maxim that true genius is always years ahead of the crowd. This, my friends, might well be true genius.
Free Music Review: ( )
Hit: 5 Stars
really wanted to write a review of this album right after I heard it for the first time, but for once, I actually showed restraint. I decided to listen to it over and over -- to immerse myself in it (for that is truly the only way to describe what happens to a listener who is in the grips of Sigur Ros) -- before setting pen to paper, so to speak.
The first time I listened to ( ), I would have rated it five stars and shouted out its gorgeous wunderability to any and all who would listen to me. And after listening to it for a couple of days, I like it even more. Ten times more. But perhaps I am building it up just a bit.
This is not, and will not be, everyone's cup of tea. That's why there are different flavors.
Believe me, if you buy this CD based on my gushing review, you can't be mad and say I didn't warn you. This is music of a kind you probably haven't heard much of before. It floats around you, fills in spaces that most music can't touch, and transports you to a different place in time, a time all at once beautiful, aching, emotional, and nostalgic. And all of this without the aid of words. For you see, the lead singer for Sigur Ros sings entirely in "Hopelandish," a self-invented language that mixes pure Icelandic with several other languages (including some English even). This band is beyond pretentious and still I don't hate them.
In fact, the impossibility of "understanding" the lyrics on ( ) in a conventional manner of thought is, in one sense, what elevates Sigur Ros above so many other artists sculpting the same kind of music. Since nothing is understood, it's up to you to decide what is being said or not said, or, if all else fails, to just give yourself completely up to the sheer emotion of the singer's high, pure voice. Vocals here are used as an instrument, like any other in the band, and together the combination is sheer aural pleasure.
But of course, there are people who will absolutely hate this album. There is a distinctively love/hate relationship built into the fibre of the music itself, because there is no way you could "kind of" like or "sort of" not like Sigur Ros, especially with ( ). All eight of the songs are untitled, and flow together into a wonderfully cohesive whole -- and you're either completely with it or completely not. Pick a side. Please try and pick the right one though.
And now is the point where I wonder how I can possibly review a CD that has no real title and no song titles. It could get quite old quite fast for me to start comparing "Untitled #1" with "Untitled #6," even I would start to get confused at some point. But in a sense, that's the precise reason why the album works so well, without the distraction of song titles or "real" lyrics, the album is almost like eight different parts of a single (and very modern, experimental) symphony. This is an album that all but demands you listen to all in one sitting. There are no singles here. The songs are not randomly placed on the disc. They are meant to be heard in sequence, to experience the rolling waves of their progression to a loud and powerful conclusion.
Very few bands can actually change the way you look at music and the way it can affect you emotionally. Sigur Ros is one of those bands. Unfortunately, they proclaim themselves to be one of those bands, have in fact declared that they will (or at least aspire to) change the face of music forever. Which, they probably won't, not in this lifetime anyway -- if for nothing else than the old maxim that states true genius is always years ahead of the crowd. And this, you see, might well be true genius
Free Music Review: ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Hit: 5 Stars
() has exceeded the wonder that was Agaetis Byrjun. The songs are still melancholy, reflective, and sung in that occasional falsetto. Some of the songs are lengthy epics that stretch to 12 minutes and have those emotionally rising orgasmic Bolero-like crescendos. Yes, the songs are untitled, but I found the following song titles for this album from some site so here they are:Vaka
Fyrsta
Samskeyti
Njosnavelin
Alafoss
E-Bow
Death Song
Pop Song
As if they needed titles. They're more mood-eliciting tunes that scarcely require any identification.
"Vaka" begins with a slow reflective piano, viola-like strings, ringing organ-like sounds, and haunting falsettos. Despite the Hopelandic, the hybrid English/Icelandic language developed by Sigur Ros, there's one lyric that I picked up: "You sat alone on the fire."
"Fyrsta" begins with distorted sounds like crunchy static before going into melancholy guitars, whimpering sounds, and some lyrics in a lower but lovely register. "You sat along,... fire" and "you ran along" are what I picked up. A wall of strings surround the lyrics near the end of the song. It blends into the next song, "Samskeyti"
The mellow piano melody in "Samskeyti" reminds me of looking at snow falling from one's window or alone on a plain. It makes one either wistful, pleasantly melancholy, or maybe the urge to end it all. Probably my favourite tune here. But what about now, while I sit here listening to this? It makes me realize how empty and alone I feel sometimes. The sound, the shrill bagpipe-like synthesizers and the octaves of the piano, rises slowly in intensity before calming down, exceeding "Svefn-G-Englar" in emotion and intensity.
"Njosnavelin" begins with soaring guitar-like sounds before breaking into something that Coldplay could've done more smoothly in "Yellow". The lyric here sound like "You sigh alone by the fire, alone". Or is it "Desire alone by the fire"? I see an image this time: the orange daybreak sun reflecting off a glass windows of skyscrapers while one is standing atop a tall building. Kind of like a familiar Tom Cruise movie from last year, I know.
There's a thirty-five second pause inbetween that song and the first of the long epics. "Alafoss" stretched out clarinet-like sound with a slowed down drum tempo. Falsetto Hopelandic lyrics: "Don't you" and "you're so wrong." The whole song is like a slow burn, coming to a crescendo, with the clarinet taking on the sound of an organ well into the eighth minute of this 9:54 epic.
The 8:48 "E-Bow" features that falsetto Hopelandic vocal, which by now I can't pick out anything coherent (which is fine) and the blaring majestic crescendo of a sound that characterized "Svefn-G-Englar" and the previous "Alafoss." It cuts off suddenly.
Synth-organ flavours the 12:59 "Death Song," which features the Hopelandic "Don't fare", "Don't you love", "You sire follow". This is like a tidal wave; it briefly blares early on, in the fourth minute of the song, quieting down, before blaring back at roughly 6:40, and slowly trailing down for another four minutes, going back up at 10:40, quieting down for the remainder.
The 11:45 "Pop Song" has the familiar Hopelandic lyrics, both falsetto and lower register. It has "Alafoss"'s slow burn, intensified by the pronounced rat-tat-tat-tum of drums, kind of like Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." If "Alafoss" and "Death Song" had a child, this would be it.
As for the title of my review, well, words cannot describe it, just like the title of this album. This is something special and otherworldy.
Free Music Review: The majesty of winter...
Hit: 5 Stars
Well, since Texas is currently in the midst of an ice storm (yes, it does happen on occasion), what better time than to review Sigur Ros? These odd fellows from Iceland make music that is tailor-made for the cold. Huge, thick, spacious melodies, that perfectly evoke the icy winds of the north. Now, while their music may be beautiful, it is far from accessible. A lot of people, including many post rock fans, probably just will not get this. The music is very minimalist, even by post rock standards, and the vocals are very odd and often atonal, and the lyrics are all sung in a made-up language that sounds pretty nonsensical. However, despite all these things, this is something that, given the right atmosphere and occasion, can really hit the spot.
As I said, the music here is very minimalist in arrangement. There is none of the dramatic "rise and fall" that you get with bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor or Explosions in the Sky. But, that's not to say that there's no buildup. Instead, the entire album seems to build up as a collective whole. The first four tracks are softer, more dismal, more subdued, and then in the second half of the album, the guitars, keys, and drums gradually become louder, creating an impressive albeit subtle crescendo. Now, people have mentioned the parentheses of the album "title" representing the two halves of the album, but personally I think that's just people reading WAY too much into the title (the parentheses are most likely just a place holder for the fact that there is no title). However, there is a definite division between the first and second halves, which you can clearly hear in the music. Plus, track 4 has a few seconds of silence at the end, that seem to serve as a mini-intermission between them.
For its 70+ length, this album never gets boring, even when you kind of think it probably should. The songs all sort of fit together as one big composition (which I guess is why they have no titles), but my faves would have to be track 3, a beautiful piano instrumental; track 5, with its swelling organs that almost bring "Dark Side..." era Pink Floyd to mind; and track 7, with its monumental hugeness. And as for the vocals, well, they're weird, but you get used to them. In fact, I personally don't think you even have to like the vocals at all to get into this band. The music is so hugely enveloping, it just completely overpowers them most of the time. It's very easy to just forget they're even there.
Anyway, this is a great album, despite the limited appeal that it may have. Also, if I may rant for a moment, I resent the accusations of "pretension" that are often hurled at this band. It seems like every band that's even remotely cerebral or experimental is automatically labeled as pretentious by someone. This term is so annoyingly overused in criticising music, that it's practically becoming meaningless, especially since half the people who use it don't even seem to know what it actually means. Pretension is a false sense of superiority, and listening to this album, I really doubt that these guys are making music to try to feel as though they're better than everyone else. They just wanted to do something different, and express themselves in a unique way, and I really don't see why that should be a crime.
Ok, sorry for that. Anyway, give this a listen. It could be just what you need for a dreary winter day.
Free Music Review: A monumental album
Hit: 5 Stars
There are two things I want to say right out concerning this album. First it is not as similar to their earlier work as some reviewers have claimed, it exceeds their first two albums by leaps and bounds by actually stripping out the previous layers of sound (orchestrations, etc.) to reveal a sparser and more haunting approach to pieces of music that transcend the confines of popular music. The second is that this album is easily my pick for best album to be released since Radiohead's "OK Computer," and in many respects is much more timeless than any of that band's work is and will likely ever be.Let me elaborate further to explain both claims more clearly. It is painfully obvious that "rock", as we have known it, is and has been dead for some time. Innovative artists growing out of that genre have attempted to push in various directions whether they be electronica or through the "post-rock" movement that this band has been lumped into. Radiohead's "Kid A" is the most popular expression of this movement forward, combining both post-rock and electronic elements. But many of these pioneering bands (including GYBE, Mogwai, and even electro artists like Autechre) have still remained more or less in the confines of the popular rock medium, either through structure and dynamics or instrumentation. But now Sigur Ros has steeped so far outside of those confines that to call them a "rock" (even "post-rock") band is to denegrate what they have done on this album.
On () Sigur Ros show that they have more in common with modern composors Arvo Part and Henryck Gorecki than Radiohead or GYBE!, and I believe they do so unconciously. Where so many post-rock bands cite Part and other modern composors as influences, Sigur Ros doesn't cite, they just create a class and quality of music that places them firmly in the composor's camp. Another referance point for the music found on this album is the Sacred Music of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, obviously a long cry from CBGB's.
But this isn't a "classical" album by a long shot either, and to be fair there is some Black Sabbath creeping in around the corners here and there. Instead what the band does is take their sparse instrumentation (an instrumentation owing itself initially to the rock tradition) and create pieces of music similarly structured and as utterly transcendent as those created by the likes of Part, Gorecki and the numerous Church masters. Yet at the same time they submit the proceedings to the worldy with slightly mundane and darker passages that work to ground the pieces in terra firma from time to time. As a result Sigur Ros has created something wholly unique: This is sacred music, not for a specific religion, but for the whole world. It is complex and weighty and all the things that you would expect sacred music to be, but with a patient ear and an open soul this music will lift you into realms where few musicians have been able to lead us.
It is appropriate that this album was released the day John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" was reissued. They are both music for the ages that sanctify the terristrial while reaching far beyond it into the realms of heaven.
And, just as Coltrane turned his masterwork on the work of four talented and dedicated musicians, Sigur Ros does the same, with little hubris, just four men and simple instruments on which they have leared to sing life itself and all that is beyond it.