Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

Sigur Ros: the astonishing quartet from Iceland

Four musicians, loving experiments, from Iceland astonished everyone with their creativity right after they emerged on the big scene. It is enough to notice that they sing not only in their native Icelandic, but also in the imaginary Hopelandic language - thus, their wonderful release ( ) was fully written in the language that does not exist. The further they play the more interesting it becomes. With each new album, Sigur Ros manage to develop as performers and make experiments, staying faithful to their own style and easily recognizable. On their 2005 full-length Takk, the musicians turned their faces on mainstream without losing their originality and tried themselves in composition of shorter tracks. Their last disc Hvarf/Heim demonstrated the sunnier sound to their listeners. However, the best qualities of this post rock band - elaborated string arrangements, striking vocals by Jon Thor Birgisson and catchy song beats - were preserved in all their luxury. This year, Sigur Ros stayed faithful to their tradition of amusing others. It can be said after the mere look at the album cover. It shows four naked men, running along the green field from the camera. However, the cover is not the main surprise of the album with the lengthy title Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust.

Eleven unforgettable tracks

The whimsical title can be roughly translated as “With The Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly”. It would be appropriate to add - Sigur Ros can not just play endlessly, they can do it without repetitions! The album opener is the hit single Gobbledigook - upbeat and jolly, with the catchy drum rhythm and playful guitar, accompanying the high-pitch vocals by Birgisson. The song Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur starts with the sounds of a horn, which gives place to the piano, added selflessly with other instruments. Godan Daginn became the minimalistic decoration of the long-play Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, on which the vocalist’s falsetto sounds especially touching, accompanied by the tender sounds of the acoustic guitar. The track called Festival, the longest one on the album, is labored in the old fashion of Sigur Ros. The accent of this composition is laid upon the drums and Jon’s vocals, sounding elevated and majestic at the end. One more lengthy composition on this album is Ara Batur. This epic without exaggeration masterpiece was created with the help of approximately ninety musicians - including the London Sinfonietta orchestra and the London Oratory Boy’s Choir. Illgresi, one of the most beautiful songs on the disc, is especially charming due to the characteristic of Sigur Ros string arrangement - and especially, due to the use of the violin. Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is unexpectedly closed with the laconic All Alright, the first song by Sigur Ros, performed in English.

Extremely original Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

As usual, Sigur Ros were expected to create something special - and, as usual, the musicians managed to overdo all the expectations of both the listeners and the critics. In order to record Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust the artists cooperated with producer Flood, noted for his work with Depeche Mode and U2. As a result, the sound of this creation saw some changes, several tracks amused with plain sound, while the album itself got the easy for comprehension form. Recorded partly in Iceland, partly in London, as sixty seven orchestra men from the London Sinfonietta and the London Oratory Boy’s Choir took part in the process, and also in New York and Havana, the disc was surrounded with rumors even before its release. Thus, due to its cosmopolitan nature, many people thought that Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust would be fully recorded in English. As it can be seen, Sigur Ros recorded their first song in English, but they stick to their roots in all other things. In spite of the conventional length of the majority of the tracks (about three-four minutes), two of the songs in the long-play remind of the psychedelic compositions from their early works. The sound of Sigur Ros became more cheerful and plain, but in no ways lost its wide emotional palette and mysteriousness. The disc Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust became the extremely original release for the band’s fans, which would make everyone wonder - what the next work by creative Icelanders would be like.