Time to ramble.
So….I’ve been having trouble with the new Sigur Ros album. So much so that I actually haven’t purchased it yet – and anyone who knows my love of Sigur Ros knows that such a thing is quite an event, as there was a point where I would have purchased a cd by them knowing full well it was written using nothing but fart sounds.
Their decision to go more stripped down and off the cuff on this album, inspired (apparently) by some acoustic performances during their last tour of iceland, has resulted in many a song with a much simpler – practically troubador – sound. See, for example, “Ilgressi.”
For the first time, I’m finding that my response to their vastness of scale is not ‘this is beautiful’ but ‘this is meandering.’
However, another part of me is saying that this is exactly what I wanted. Listening to “Ara Batur” is like listening to the powerhouse rock band of the last couple albums trying to rediscover the serene chamber sound of Agaetis Byrjun.
So, I’m on the fence. I think I’m finally attuned to it enough that I’ll buy it today. But I’m struggling.
I’d really like to see them live on this tour to see if the practically-religious experience has returned to their performances… That would really sell me on this album. But they seem to be avoiding the entirety of the American South this time around – which is really frustrating.
Anyone else have a reaction they’d like to share?
Anyone else even listened to it?
Hey,
I’ve had it since Tuesday–going to blog about it over lunch, hopefully. Work is nuts this week. In brief: tracks 1, 2, and 4 are wonderful, inspired new work. The rest very quickly becomes background noise. This is the ~rock band~ Sigur Ros. Good in small doses, but I want the symphony back.
More in a bit.
Cheers,
C
It’s interesting that you should pick up on 1,2,4, as those are the ones that start where many of the other songs finish – perky pop music.
Godan Daginn (3), Festival (5), and Ara Batur (7) – and possibly others – all begin with long quiet parts before exploding into joyous music. While this is not exactly unheard of with Sigur Ros, what’s remarkable about these three tracks is that I really can’t tell them apart. I could probably identify Godan Daginn simply because it’s the earliest one of the three on the album, but if you played either Festival or Ara Batur for me right now, I couldn’t tell you which one it was.
I think that’s what’s really puzzling me right now. I can’t at any point say that a song isn’t good, and yet it all bleeds together and gets very same-y.
But I’m working on it.
Anyway, remember how track five from () seemed to suck for the longest time until you actually forced yourself to pay attention to it? If you let it be background music, it will happily be that, but if you pay attention to it – especially with the lights off – it’s perhaps the most moving song on the album.
That’s how it worked for me, anyway.
I’m starting to wonder if this album would work better for me if I sat down and listened to it without doing anything else.