Sigur Rós
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
EMI
With first single "Gobbledygook" as the presupposed manifesto for the anti-"Heima" -- recorded in NYC, London, and Havana instead of the usual Reykjavík -- it's a bit disappointing to see Jonsi & Co can't avoid their own pitfalls, falling prey at various times to a retread of the idiosyncrasies that made "Agaetis byrjun" and "( )" great. The melodies remain memorable, and "Goðan daginn" with its middle-register acoustic guitar atop a feathered cadence, is a pristine example of "Heima" creative holdover. But their particular brand of four-to-the-floor pulses tiredly through the first half of the album, and the on-paper majesty of "Ára batur"'s full orchestra and boys choir turns out to be little more than bloated "Takk" fare. Their marketability, sadly, climbs ever upward as they half-manage to fit their Aleph of tinkling instruments into these smaller and smaller packages.
I guess after their 2006 tour of Iceland that championed their cultural and musical past, "Með suð..." seemed the perfect vehicle for a massive paradigm shift. My hopes buoyed by that gloriously playful first single, I saw this album marrying the time signature mystique of "Amnesiac" and the ornery appeal of "Sung Tongs" through their distinctive Icelandic style. Instead, all I got was an admittedly beautiful "Takk" remake, marked with the somber organs, plaintive strings, and playful glockenspiels of old.
- Nathan Keegan
