Band: Sigur Ros Album: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

Sigur Ros is arguably one of the best bands of the past 20 years. Ever since sophomore effort Agaetis Byrjun, the Icelandic band has been putting out excellent album after excellent album. From the funereal tones of ( ) to the more grand, orchestral sound of Takk…, the band has managed to carve its own niche in the musical landscape.

For new album Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, the band parted ways with long time producer Ken Thomas to team up with mega-producer Flood, who has worked on albums by U2, The Smashing Pumpkins and Depeche Mode. It also serves as the first time the band has recorded an album outside of Iceland, recording in such locales as London, New York, and even Havana, Cuba.

Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (Icelandic for “With a Buzz in our Ears we Play Endlessly”) begins with “Gobbledigook,” one of the most different and upbeat songs Sigur Ros has ever recorded. Full of tribal drums, shifting acoustic guitars and chant-like background vocals, it sounds like something Animal Collective would write.

“Gobbledigook” is followed by the chiming keyboards and thumping pulse of “Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur,” which ends in a giant chorus of strings and horns. “Godan Daginn,” with its angelic keyboards and bowed guitar, sounds like vintage Sigur Ros, but with the addition of some lightly strummed acoustic guitar. “Ara Batur” is, according the band’s press release, “the largest musical undertaking in the band’s career, as it was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boy’s Choir, a total of 90 people playing at the same time.”

With the both the symphony and choir aiming for the stars, it is easily one of the most beautiful songs Sigur Ros, or any band for that matter, has ever recorded, and it stands as the album’s strongest song. The grandness of “Ara Batur” is contrasted by the following song, “Illgresi,” a spare track of only acoustic guitar and lead singer Jonsi Birgisson’s otherworldy vocals. With “Straumnes,” Sigur Ros prove it is one of the few bands that can make a song of melodic tones sound transcendent.

The band also knows how to close out an album, and does so with the quiet, beautiful lullaby “All Alright.” The song also marks the first time the band has ever penned a song in English, usually opting to sing in Icelandic or Hopelandic (a language of the band’s own invention).

The one flaw on Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is title track, “Vid spilum endalaust”. On it, the band comes off as trying to too hard to sound like itself, ultimately winding up with a weak, forgettable song. That single weak link can be forgiven, however, as the rest of the album serves as another great effort in a nearly impeccable catalog.