New Sigur Ros

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Whatcha'll think of it?

― Manny Parsons (Rahul Kamath), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:40 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm curious about this too -- mostly whether or not it offers something different from the last one (which I like).

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:47 (twenty-four years ago)

Less screeching, more singing.

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 31 October 2002 05:48 (twenty-four years ago)

I luv it. As someone who has a lot of their live shows I'm glad to finally have real versions of the songs that have been floating around for the last couple of years. It's certainly different than AB. The production has been scaled back and the overall sound is much more raw and stark. To tell the truth, it sounds like a really good live performance with a slight hint of studio sheen. The tone of the music is a lot darker and melancholy, too. I imagine that if you sat in complete darkness and listened to some of this shit, it'd probably give you the heebie-geebies. But, I mean that in the best way possible.:) In fact, the darker vibe is one of the reasons that I prefer this one to their last album.(though I luv it, too)
If Aegaetis Byrjun was their OK Computer then this is their Kid A. It'll be real interesting to see what they can come up with next.

Oh yeah, the packaging kicks everybody's ass. Just my .02

― Brenya, Thursday, 31 October 2002 08:32 (twenty-four years ago)

track list please

― chaki (chaki), Thursday, 31 October 2002 08:37 (twenty-four years ago)

time to revive the "i hate it on principle" thread, methinks!

― Tad (llamasfur), Thursday, 31 October 2002 08:48 (twenty-four years ago)

there is no track list... is there..!?!

― chaki (chaki), Thursday, 31 October 2002 09:03 (twenty-four years ago)

I've got this tracklist (don't know if it's correct but does it really matter?):
1. Vaka
2. Fyrsta
3. Samskeyti
4. Njosnavelin
5. Allafos
6. Ebow
7. The Death Song
8. The Pop Song

It's great. It's actually the first Sigur Ros release that I really like from start to finish. As Brenya mentioned, much darker and more depressive. Somehow I hear traces of the first The 3rd And The Mortal album too.

― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 31 October 2002 09:46 (twenty-four years ago)

I thought all the tracks were untitled?

I like Track 4, though, and I don't usually like Sigur Ros.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 31 October 2002 12:16 (twenty-four years ago)

The tracks are untitled on the cd but they have titles from bootlegs and shows and over obsessive fans.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:07 (twenty-four years ago)

Siegbran: Your tracklistng is correct.

Speaking of the song titles: These songs have always had working titles to them. Most of them based on their overall feel or in-jokes of the band.[ie, The Death Song, The Quiet Song ,The Nothing Song]

The band never gave them official titles and until now all of these songs were concert only. I still call them by their working titles, though, and I suspect that most everyone else will, too.

And I still think it's a Goth lover's wet dream.

― Brenya, Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:11 (twenty-four years ago)

and most importantly its still two chords shy of Lord of The Rings.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:12 (twenty-four years ago)

Frodo Baggins, what's in your iPod?

― Andy K (Andy K), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:23 (twenty-four years ago)

One ebow to rule them all
and in the darkness bind them.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:26 (twenty-four years ago)

I read an aritcle that said they should have named the album "Two Sausages Kissing"

― Chris V. (Chris V), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:36 (twenty-four years ago)

or... maybe one sausage is eating the other out...

― willem (willem), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:42 (twenty-four years ago)

Im not too worried about the alck of titles, its not like I could pronounce any of them before. And I still stand by the title "Itchy Woo"

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:45 (twenty-four years ago)

This is probably a very uneducated answer, but I don't like what I've heard of it. I can't say song titles or anything, but it was playing in the record store last night. I was there for a good twenty-twenty five minutes, and it just struck me as being really, really boring. The guy's voice was fairly irritating, and the music was pretty but nothing exceptionally moving or interesting--kind of pleasant, but I think I'd turn it off after a few minutes.

― ian johnaon, Thursday, 31 October 2002 15:53 (twenty-four years ago)

listening to it right now, and, erm, well, we've had it on for twenty minutes and i haven't even noticed that it's been playing. this is not necessarily a compliment. kind of mindlessly pretty, like cocteau twins when they went off the coke.

― kate, Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:16 (twenty-four years ago)

Haven't heard anything of the new one not even the mp3s I have been busily downloading but I suspect that Ian could be right. I bought AB on the base of all these fave reviews and one song I had heard on the radio and it was a major letdown. To my ears their music sounds rather empty and lifeless. They try very hard to make beautiful music and I find this artificiality really annoying.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:18 (twenty-four years ago)

Who let you outta your db Kate?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 16:22 (twenty-four years ago)

finished the DB week before last! now i'm dodging interviews at suzy's helping her dye her hair and enjoying the ADSL line, mmmmmmmmm.

― kate, Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:26 (twenty-four years ago)

Musically it's really, really good but indeed that whiny brat on vocals is a bit of a turnoff (Tom Yorke really does have a bad influence on people). If only they had Kari Rueslåtten...

I don't quite hear the hobbit/LOTR connection with Sigur Ros...Summoning Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame is much more geared towards that kind of atmosphere while also doing the repetitive/ambient thing. Vocals are equally love them/hate them though (although of course totally different, subdued high pitched gibberish vs "roaring on a windswept mountain peak" kind of thing).

― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:28 (twenty-four years ago)

In that second song on the last album -- I like it when he sings falsetto, but not when he goes into his regular voice and sounds like Billy Corgan. Which voice dominates on the new record?

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:31 (twenty-four years ago)

you know, for this sort of LOTR spacerock thing, i'd just really rather have hawkwind. i'm sorry.

― kate, Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:32 (twenty-four years ago)

ITCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
[PING]

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 17:57 (twenty-four years ago)

Mr Noodles is my hero.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 31 October 2002 19:45 (twenty-four years ago)

I feel vindicated by my earlier comments that the new material, in concert, sounded a lot like Faith-era Cure...very minimal but moody throbbing basslines, very slow movement and a lot of repetition of themes. I didn't like it at first but it's really growing on me a lot the more I listen to i.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 31 October 2002 19:47 (twenty-four years ago)

sean were you at the show last night?

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 31 October 2002 19:51 (twenty-four years ago)

That is correct about the bass. Very much front and center when they play live.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 31 October 2002 19:59 (twenty-four years ago)

I wasn't actually there last night, no...saw them at the Palais when they played there, though. Thought it was a good show. I mentioned the Cure-like basslines on some other thread and I think someone called me a loonie or said "yuck" or somesuch. I hear it again on the new album, though, so I know it wasn't my imagination. And I know it sounds pretty interesting. So.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 31 October 2002 20:32 (twenty-four years ago)

I think it's the bst album ever, but then, I hate disco. Why would you trust MY xenophobic, homophobic, threatened-masculinity driven opinions?

― Callum (Callum), Thursday, 31 October 2002 21:53 (twenty-four years ago)

good point.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 31 October 2002 21:58 (twenty-four years ago)

I liked that threatened masculinity thing. I'm the least masculine person I know.

― Callum (Callum), Thursday, 31 October 2002 22:01 (twenty-four years ago)

Which is why it would need that much more defending, isn't it?

(nb: this is a nasty crack which i don't actually mean except that i just had to make it becuase, oh christ, i just did)

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 31 October 2002 22:05 (twenty-four years ago)

Good point. Maybe, because I like such gay-ass faggot music, I have to hate disco to prove that I have a penis at all....

― Callum (Callum), Thursday, 31 October 2002 22:07 (twenty-four years ago)

Siegbran, is Kari Rueslatten the singer from The Third and the Mortal? If so I haven't heard than name in quite awhile...I used to have their album on tape with similar stuff like the Gathering, Lacrimosa, etc and I remember it being very good.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 31 October 2002 22:21 (twenty-four years ago)

(Urf, Callum, keep that argument over on the other thread. I know when you're young the link between the music you like and your identity as a person seems really strong, but it fades, it's not so important; people just like you might even disagree about it. Don't be defensive over that thread: just say what you think and why and everyone will be happy.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 31 October 2002 23:43 (twenty-four years ago)

Kari Rueslatten the singer from The Third and the Mortal

Yes, she was on the first EP "Sorrow" and the debut album around 1994. After that she went solo, and after a rather good dreamy folk-ish demo CD signed with Sony Norway in 1997? 1998? and she somehow got marketed/coaxed into a blatant Tori Amos clone (Mesmerized is really, really bad). Last thing I heard was that she got dumped by Sony.

But it's mainly because of her vocals working so well on that TT&TM album, which really sounded a lot like that last track on ( ) that I would like to hear her on Sigur Ros material.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 1 November 2002 00:43 (twenty-four years ago)

I heard that if you put the CD into a computer and play it, you'll get the titles of the songs - read it in the paper today, not sure if it's true or not.

― Michael Dieter, Friday, 1 November 2002 05:24 (twenty-four years ago)

I still haven't got past the back of the case. Just looking at it, and going, "oooh"...

― Mr Swygart (mrswygart), Friday, 1 November 2002 11:10 (twenty-four years ago)

I thought I was saying what I think and why. Like, "I think ( ) is the finest album ever made because it's even more beautiful than that last Sigur Ros album, and that's hard to be."

― Callum (Callum), Friday, 1 November 2002 19:17 (twenty-four years ago)

I like the last track the best. very good, but the whole 70 something minutes goes by like 12 hours because its too slow.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 1 November 2002 19:21 (twenty-four years ago)

I like it, excellent study music.

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 2 November 2002 17:56 (twenty-four years ago)

five years pass...

I can't get "Hljomalind" out of my head. This may be the best thing I've heard from these guys.

― turkey, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 09:09 (nineteen years ago)

from today's Dusted review of the new album/EP, a quote that parallels this ILM discussion nicely:

It's tempting to label Sigur Rós as Windham Hill for those who want something hip but smooth. Listening to these songs is like being a rat in a maze: Every move is calculated for you, and if you follow the path as laid out, you'll get your dessert. But while things seem sweet for a while, there's no escaping a feeling of constriction. It's all so tightly buttoned down that the first listen evokes a certain déjà vu; You haven't heard it before, and yet you know what's going to happen anyway.

― stephen, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

The "it's predictable" argument is weak because you can apply it to 99% of all music. Is minimal techno calculated for you because you know you're hearing thumpthumpthump for ten minutes? Is rock predictable because you likely know exactly when the chorus is going to start?

The "predictable" label is simply a way to justify writing a half-assed review, i.e. "this album is predictable so there's no need listen to this very carefully -- I already know what it'll sound like!" OTOH, one can just write "I didn't like this album", hey, that's cool too and it's a lot more honest than dismissing something as too predictable to be worth your time.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 09:11 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

Special tonight on The Culture Show, 11.35pm BBC2.

― willem, Friday, 4 January 2008 14:16 (eighteen years ago)

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