Customer Reviews
A tad underdevloped 
2008-09-30
3 1/2
Starting off briskly, the majestic quartet's up-tempo pop dabblings seem to have not hindered the new album at all, which includes something for everyone. Though they revisit their trademark sonic buildups and offer humble acoustic contrast, a certain balance just does not seem to have been struck in the track sequencing, tapering off in the final stretch, and often sounding like a collection of quite good b-sides instead of their latest release.
zzzzz. . . . . 
2008-09-25
Quite boring. I'm new to Sigur Ros, so I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with the change to their sound and being more stripped down. This is so stripped down as to be boring. One of my few album purchase regrets and one where reviewers I normally find reliable got it wrong. If you're new to Sigur Ros and are wondering what the hype is about, save your money and skip this album.
Love It! 
2008-09-19
Well, you either love these guys or you don't.
I happen to love them, and I'm all over myself with this CD.
No, this isn't "Taak" or "()", but there's much to love and fall in love with this one.
Just listen to it, and enjoy!
Their most accessible yet!!! 2008-09-09
With their fifth album, Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós may have earned the dubious honour of "most un-pronouncable title" or "worst album cover" ever, but it's also their most accessible album, a strong contender for "best album of the year" honours.
If you've never listened to them, it is difficult to describe their sound. Their lead singer sings in an ethereal falsetto, usually in their made up language Hopelandic, against a dreamy melodic folk/quasi-symphonic backdrop.
Opening cut "Gobbledigook" is a clap filled Folky affair. "Við spilum endalaust" took me by surprise, an upbeat Pop song that one could easily imagine on a Coldplay album.
Spare and cathedral sounding is "Festival" which builds to a towering climax. "Suð í eyrum" is a delicate piano ballad with tumbling sounding percussion building in as the song progresses. "Ára bátur" is an angelic sounding spare ballad one could imagine on some soundtrack to some epic. It features the 20 member London Oratory Boys Choir and the 67 piece London Sinfonietta.
"Íllgresi" is a lovely acoustic ballad, and the absolutely stunning "Fljótavík" is a piano ballad that finds lead singer Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto soaring vocally to Heaven.
The brief "Straumnes" is an ominous sounding instrumental, and closing is "All alright", their first foray lyrically in the English language. A tender lullaby-like piano ballad with Birgisson singing in a frail lower register in the first half. He might as well be singing in their signature Hopelandic from his warbling. Still, a stirring and beautiful song.
So many adjectives could be used to describe this album; ethereal, melodic, magical, hypnotic, hymnal, and they would still not be enough to describe the beauty of this stunning album.
More Joyous, Great Music from Sigur Ros 2008-09-08
One of my favorite albums of all time is Sigur Ros' Agaetis Byrjun, so naturally I pick up their other albums as they come out. Takk was good as was ( ) but I'm really enjoying this new 5th album which according to the Sigur Ros website translates as "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly." The first song, "Gobbledigook" is quickly becoming another favorite, bouncing from one speaker to another. The second song, "Inni mer syngur vitlajsingur" is an awesome anthem, but the title which in English translates as "Within me a lunatic sings" just makes me laugh. The song fills me with joy too. "Festival" starts out slowly, but then powers into another classic Sigur Ros song. "Godan daginn" is sweet and soft, almost like a lullaby and I hope no one ever watches me listen to "Vid spilum endalaust" because I'm just bouncing around in my chair. lol It's a true pop song. Their music isn't like any other bands I know of. The clear, high vocals by Jonsi Birgisson are sung in either Icelandic or "Hopelandic", a made up language that he uses to first fill in songs without lyrics. For the first time, one song on the album is sung in English. The album is fun and cheerful and full of life. I have to admit, I was first taken aback by the naked bottoms on the album cover, as well as on the video of Gobbledigook with everyone running through the countryside naked. It's not sexy, it's just sans clothing. :) Listening to Sigur Ros taught me to listen to music differently. I don't know the lyrics and can't begin to know what some of the songs mean, (witness my totally favorite song Flugufrelsarinn which I just found out is sort of about saving a fly in a river!) but I love the beautiful sound of Jonsi's voice and the gorgeous and overlayed background instruments, the uncommon use of playing an electric guitar with a cello bow, the symphony and boys choir in the background of "Ara Batur". It's a lovely album and I can't recommend their music highly enough.
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust 
2008-09-05
Inspired by the unfettered feeling of the acoustic performances filmed during Heima, Sigur Rós
adopted a looser approach in creating their fifth album Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust.
The album consequently is fresher and more human than anything they ve previously
recorded.
Rough edges, cracked notes, and the sound of fingers on strings are audible resulting in tracks
(e.g. Íllgresi ) that prove to be the band's sparsest and most affecting work to date. Worry not
though, plenty of electric guitar can be heard throughout the album ensuring Sigur Rós
commitment to challenging sonic limitations.
Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is truly a groundbreaking album for Sigur Rós. It s the
first time they ve attempted to write, record, mix, release and support (by touring) an album in
the same year. Notoriously known for their laborious writing/recording style and their Icelandic
roots, Sigur Rós decided to record an album outside of Iceland for the first time. Recording,
mixing and mastering sessions took place in such un-Reykjavik cities as New York (Sear
Sound and Sterling Sound), London (Abbey Road and Assault & Battery) and Havana. The
result is pretty much their leave home album, the anti-Heima.
The opening track, Gobbledigook , is a manifesto setter with its shifting/no time signature. On
the last track, All Alright , Sigur Rós find themselves singing a song solely in English for the
first time. The seventh track, Ára Bátur , was performed with a full orchestra and the London
Oratory Boys Choir. This was recorded in one take with no overdubs and the result was 90
people playing at once and just one perfect take. This is their first album working with Flood
(U2, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey) and the first since their debut to not be recorded with Ken
Thomas. It was a true co-production, one that found Sigur Rós breaking out of old
molds/habits.
The cover artwork is a photo taken from a flyer for Ryan McGinley s most recent photo
exhibition in NYC, I Know Where the Summer Goes , and the image captures perfectly the
spirit of the album, one of free-spirited happiness and exploration.
The band will be touring the US throughout the fall of 2008 to support Med Sud I Eyrum Vid
Spilum Endalaust.
Ice-tastic! 2008-09-04
This is my first try with a foreign language CD. Sigur Ros is a great band from Iceland and their beautiful melodies are wonderful to listen to. I know that American music is popular all over the world, now I know what it feels like to get into the sound of a band, even if you do not understand the language they are singing in. It is very different, a very interesting sound.
I just cant stop listening to this album 2008-09-02
There are some albums where you like one or two songs and the rest just does nothing for you. then there are albums where you like every song on it but then after a while it gets old and it falls by the wayside. this album took me completely off guard. i heard a song on a local college station and took a chance buying the whole album....i must have listened to it through ten times or more since i bought it and each song remains fresh and new. im even hard pressed to name one or two favorites beacause each song remains as strong as the one before it....the songs are rich and passionate. emotional but catchy...i dont understand the lyrics but you dont really have to. the music pulls you in and takes you in a "pied piper" fashon....i think i can officially call myself a die hard fan
Lacking emotional connectivity. 2008-08-31
What happened to my dearest Sigur Ros? Why so mellow?
I understand everything/one must evolve. But why in this direction? It simply lacks the intensity found in their earlier works. It should `work', but it simply fails to click with me.
Track by track analysis:
Globbdigook- Downright pop. Or freak-folk, depending upon how you look at it. Catches you at first listen, but ultimately, like nearly everything on this album, lacks substance. The `lalalalala'ing? Are you kidding me? I know I shouldn't play the compare game, but people. Listen to Untitled One (Vaka), then this in succession. Serious drop in quality.
Inní mér syngur vitleysingur -A bad circus. Chaos. Sudden explosion of sound. Appears like it's trying to be catchy, but it isn't even that. I'm amused by the fact some of it sounds like it's in English though. `A thirsty anger' `kinky' `we flip and throttle' .
Góðan daginn- My favorite of the album. It's a comforting song to me. Completely different direction than my older favorite SR tracks. However, it just works for this song. It's beautiful. Gives me hope for some other potential off this album. I feel some actual emotion here!
Við spilum endalaust- I have nothing to say about this. Evokes no emotion from me.
Festival- Starts slow. I like to think I have patience for buildups, but I lost it here. 4:45, finally hearing signs of life again. I like it when the strings get a little more emphasis opposed to the blasted overused drums. Nice when the buildup reaches its full point. Yet I manage to forget this every time until it gets to that point.
Með suð í eyrum- I don't have a proper version of this currently, and am not able to acquire one at the moment.
Ára bátur- Initially reminds me of Samskeyti. I'm gooing to be honest here, no idea why I don't like this.
Illgresi- I've never listened to a SR song and consciously thought "I wish this was in English" until now. There's nothing to focus on. In situations like this I typically suck it up and listen to the meaning the artist is trying to express, but I get nothing but slight sadness. If it felt impassionate to me I believe I would feel differently about this song.
Fljótavík- The beginning was encouraging. I'm not sure what makes this song different from Ilgresi for me, but this one feels more emotional. A feel a little Vaka off ( ) here. A stronger track off the album. The ending is quite beautiful and touching.
Straumnes- The transition from Fljótavík to this does seem very cohesive. Very relaxing song. Depending on who you are Iguess this could be a positive thing, but I prefer their intense side personally. Not a bad track though. Arguably a filler.
All Alright- I never thought they would ever create a song with English lyrics. I'm really a fan of the lyrics, simple but evocative all the same. The actual music lacks the intensity of say, Untitled Eight, but what can one do?
This doesn't even really seem like a two-star review. When everything else SR produces is just so damn euphoric, a slightly above average album [even that's pushing it in this situation] from them warrants two stars. I attempt to respect their right to change. It's just incredibly difficult for me to lose a band I've been so emotionally connected with for so long. ( ) is one of the top three albums I've ever heard. The passion on that album is untouchable. It's almost like they're afraid to go back into that territory, with each proceeding album more and more mellow. But what do I know.
The new music `should' work. For some reason it just does not connect with me. I can't make it through the entire thing without a `Cold', `Untitled Eight' ,'Avalon', `Svo Hljott', `Olsen Olsen', or `Ebow' listening.
More Icelandic beauty. 2008-08-31
Endalaust is an interesting album to me. If my impressions of the band's general sound from listening to ( ) is accurate, which I'm pretty sure it is, then Endalaust is a significant departure from that. It's less post rock and more hippie indie wanky stuff, in a very entertaining way. But plenty of bands have changed their sound, what's interesting to me is how they don't abandon their old ways. Their earlier sound slowly creeps back into the album while it's playing, eventually completely taking over again. It tells a story just with the evolution of its sound more than any album I can remember. It seems to me like a youth growing older, or maybe an adult reverting to childhood, I can't tell which. But it's really beautiful anyway.
"Gobbledigook" is the single with the music video featuring happy, dancing, naked people; imagery that really fits the song pretty well. The pounding drums make the song for me, and the off-beat guitar and high pitched voices accompany it well. The next few songs continue with the same feel, using strong beats, plinking keys, and catchy vocals to catch the attention. "Festival" is a more traditional long, slowly building track that reaches a soaring climax, although it has a quality that differentiates it from similar songs they've done before. It's just the choice of instrumentation, but it captures all the power of that technique while still sounding new. "Ára Bátur" reminds me the most of their old sound, but as it goes on an orchestra builds up and reaches a swelling crescendo so powerful that while listening to it in the car, I forgot to make my turn. The next few songs are lower key, softer tracks, none of which astound, but they're nice enough to listen to. The last song, "All Alright", is the band's first sung in English, although it doesn't make a difference when I can barely understand him anyway. It's a nice enough way to close out the record, though.
