Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [CD]

Sigur Rós's astonishing 1999 LP, "Ágaetis Byrjun", was unreplicable. In the years since, they've made catchier songs and noisier songs; but nothing quite matches the otherworldly ambience of their early masterpiece. "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" marks a change of direction. In short, it's the first time Sigur Rós have sounded like a band, rather than a school of whales at the bottom of a fjord.

The first four songs are fresh, sunkissed, acoustic, playful: you'd hardly believe it's still Sigur Rós, but it all works beautifully. The message is clear: this is a fun album, a soundtrack for summer, for festivals, for beaches, for running naked across roads. After this brilliant opening, the album loses momentum a little (in particular, "Ára bátur" is overlong and overblown, with choirs and orchestras battling with the vocals for space in your ears), but it's all done with enough verve to keep your finger away from the skip button. "Með suð" is by far Sigur Rós's most accessible record, and is a fine place for newcomers to start.

The bottom line is that "Með suð" is good news: the successful sonic evolution of one of the most consistently interesting bands in the world today.

After finding out that music maestro 'Flood' was to produce their 5th album, I was a little,(some may say justified) cautious about this new offering from Icelandic cloud landscapers, Sigur Ros.

Their new and latest free download Gobbledigook, took me somewhat by surprise, it's a brave move. I couldn't help but think bands like 'The Flaming Lips' could carry this off with absolute ease, but as a Sigur Ros track, for me, didn't really work.

I couldn't help but think it's like someone taking a wild endangered animal, sticking it in a cage and getting it to perform tricks for a paying audience. Thankfully, the other tracks are as good as anything they have done previous. Some Sigur Ros purists still may be a little disappointed with its more structured sound, but for me, I'm happy to report, it still sounds pretty darn good.

I think it's a fine mix of lets try something new/with not wanting to alienate their core audience, the only slight problem for me is that at times it seems a little obvious and slightly mechanical. Compared to their usual style of organically producing stunning backdrops for movies that have never been made, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, may be a tad forced, I like my Sigur Ros tracks less obvious, taking something different from them every time I hear them.

Having said that, it isn't a criticism, just a personnel preference.

I read a review that said "some of the tracks sound a little OTT", couldn't help but laugh when you consider this is a band who live in Iceland, record music in churches and caves and sing in a made up language no one can decipher.

Sigur Ros remain superb, the back lash may have started, but if they had continued doing another Takk or ( ), the critical damage could have been far worst. At least it proves that Sigur Ros are not beyond criticism like some suggested. Sit back and enjoy, tracks Ára bátur & Festival are an absolute treat. Over blown syrup? .. yes, maybe, but isn't that why we like them?

In the year Sigur Ros released their first album "Von", it sold 313 copies. Things have changed a lot in the past decade, and yet, they haven't. Their records are round and they play instruments, but that's about all they have in common with anyone. Their songs still have unique titles, their albums have unwieldy names, their artwork is still uniquely individual : the cover of this sums up the record in an instant : naked men and women running across a road, breaking with convention - not because it is an act of rebellion, but because it is what the heart feels is true.

From the off, Sigur Ros have never been so accessable, and yet it is still, utterly and completely filled with the trademarks of their sound : ascending rhythms, vistas of strings, ethereal otherworldly vocals that soar and elevate, music that eschews the convention of verse / chorus / guitar solo in favour of a unfolding panorama of invention. Sure, all this flowery language is so very 1986-NME-Cocteau-Twins, but then again, about the only thing that is familiar about this record is that you can buy it in shops.

Starting with the rampaging crescendo is "Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysinger" (rough transalation : "I have no idea what this means"), "Meo Suo I Eyrum..." is very possibly the greatest Sigur Ros record yet. It opens like a weird James hit single, then within 17 seconds takes an abrupt left turn into a fluffy Jesus & Mary Chain with a vast chorus. This record hints at a world yet unseen, touches upon the vast possibilities, takes the promises of other music, and leaves them all in the dust. You thought Radiohead were weird? Compared to Sigur Ros, Radiohead are Take That.

The first half of the record is vibrant, uplifting, all drums and choruses and massive swathes of indistinct angels trilling in your ears. The second half is quieter, more reflective, introspective half-seen glimpses of songs, an alien lullaby, or an insomniac sunset seen from the window of a transatlantic jetliner.

In fact, words are pretty much redundant to explain the intricate and unique world this record creates. Unlike any other music I've heard. Sigur Ros is immersive. It's the sound of music you hear on the stairs when two different records are playing at the same time, and you heard a new third, impossible song - and that is Sigur Ros, a world underneath your fingertips you didn't know existed. And its also the closest thing Sigur Ros have ever come to a conventional pop music : at times ("Ara Batur") it sounds like something Coldplay and Brian Eno would reject as far-too-weird. In one respect, Sigur Ros music is a blank canvas - there is no `meaning' except that we make ourselves, no interpretation but that we add. Every listener, every reader, everyone who's ever seen a film brings with them, unwitting or not, their baggage, their interpretation, their world, and creates something that is what the author intended but also, far far more than that. Sigur Ros music is impressionistic, foggy, a musical Rosharch Inkblot Test that provides the listener to create their own paradise and get lost in that forever.