Untitled #1 (a.k.a. Vaka) (DVD Edition)
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Free Music Notes for Untitled #1 (a.k.a. Vaka) (DVD Edition)
Free Music Review: I must admit, I'm let down...
Hit: 3 Stars
Having been a fan of Sigur Ros for years now, owning all of their previous work, and having declared on many occasions that they are my current "favorite band," I understand that I have nearly impossibly high expectations for any new Sigur Ros release. Therefore, I expected this to grow on me after the initial let down.However, that being said, no matter how many times I listen to tracks 2 through 4 on this single, they simply never strike me as anything more than boring, and uninteresting. Despite the claim that they originated as a remix which "became an entirely new song," they still sound like nothing more than a weak remix to me. There appears to be little creativity and significant repetition. In fact, these three tracks remind me of much of the atmospheric background noise that is so pervasive on their first cd, "Von." (Not that "Von" is a bad CD. on the contrary, it is brilliant. It just has a lot of "filler.") Try as I might, I simply am incapable of enjoying that kind of repetitive trance-like music.
The truly sad thing is that these tracks were chosen for the b-sides, rather than the original plan of including new versions of the songs "Von" and "Haffsol." Both of those tracks are brilliant, especially in their new forms, and would've been a welcome addition to the catalogue of official SR releases. The b-sides that actually were released in this package, however, are significantly inferior.
Certainly not up to the high standards that Sigur Ros have set for themselves.
Despite all that, I will give the single 3 stars. The videos (for those who haven't seen them) are brilliant, and "Track 1" is always a pleasure to listen to. I had just hoped for much more.
Free Music Review: Classy but Not
Hit: 3 Stars
Sigur Ros are a band that inspires even the indie cynics to gush in an incoherently brazen way. Words like masterpiece and timeless just seem to spew from their mouths. Not that I am especially inclined to disagree. Sigur Ros appeal to that film soundtrack, lush soundscape part of the brain that needs to be satisfied from time to time, the part of me that loves the lion king soundtrack, and I mean that in the best possible way. Untitled 1 or Vaka as its alias goes is a track that goes exactly where you expect it to go, you have an amazingly pretty piano and organ, and Jonsi in his typical atypically alien falsetto belting it out, it takes on an almost Amazing Grace type of vibe, I'll try not to use vibe in the rest of this review. Untitled 9 seems to be a remixed Vaka, or at least I've heard, and its almost better, maybe. Hard to explain. The videos are horrible, to put it bluntly. Slow motion homosexual parables aren't necessarily my thing, but one with such obvious and heavy-handed symbolism does me no favors. It's almost embarassingly self-conscious, well Vidrar Vel. Syefn is actually not bad, as background for the song, its kind of pretty, but you could probably put video of a guy collecting garbage and make it profound with a song like that to back it up. Vaka is also just a little obvious, post-apocalyptic imagery in a kind of hokey way doesn't seem to match the music, sadly. So the videos don't match the songs, at least they don't for me, but the songs are quality, as they almost always are with this bunch of artsy icelandic scumbags. So take your pick.Free Music Review: disappointing
Hit: 3 Stars
i personally didn't think this single/DVD was as good as it should have been. since i really love Agaetis Byrjum and ( ) i figured this would be a good investment, but sadly, its not. The packaging says that it "contains a full new 11 minute song" when really it doesnt, its almost exactly the same as track one on ( ) followed up by random sounds. The video for sven-englar or whatever its called was REALLY disappointing. its basically a group of wierd looking kids with down's syndrome dancing on a beach... the second video was a lot better, but still a little strange. its about a kid who's dad starts beating him because he's playing with dolls. it was okay. the last video is for track one of ( ) which is by far the best one. its of a bunch of kids playing in ashes as if it was snow, plus they're all wearing gasmasks. its a pretty cool video, plus all the cd's artwork is based off of it. basically , the single wasn't what the label made it out as. if you get it, don't base it soley on the hopes of hearing a "new track" because it doesn't really exist. i'm still a huge fan and will most likely end up keeping the set just because its sigur ros. the main redeeming quality of the set is the video for track 1. the sven-englar video is a little embarrasing, but the one after it is decent. anyway, if you're a huge fan of sigur ros, maybe go ahead and take a gamble at this one, but if you're just getting into them stay far away.
Free Music Review: I disagree with all of the other reviews...
Hit: 1 Stars
First let me just say that I consider myself the #1 fan of ( ). OK now that that's outta the way... I was very disappointed in this DVD. The CD was pretty cool, and that's what the one star is for, but the music videos on the DVD were terrible. When I listen to Sigur Ros I picture abstract and eretheral things, like weird or peaceful landscapes or romantic stories - not dancing down-syndrome people dressed as angels, and not children playing soccer (football). I wasn't really offended by the scene with the two boys, but I didn't really feel too good about it either. A music video should reflect what the director feels when he/she listens to the music. I didn't see any connection between these images and the genius music of Sigur Ros (except that the videos were in permanent slo-mo). Do yourself a favor and don't get it - or do Sigur Ros a favor and get it. Up to you.