SIGUR Rós > Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

Icelandic four-piece Sigur Rós confines their penchant for epic post-rock to pop format on their fourth album. Severely right-brained singer Jónsi Birgisson sometimes sings in gibberish so names the first track and single “Gobbledigook.” Therein, tribal beats approach the ears like the speeding dashed lines of a paved road and, off-road, preternatural munchkins hum a chorus of “lalalala” that emits E.T.’s finger glow (and sounds like the band Animal Collective).Label: BEGGARS/XL
[Rating 3.5]

Icelandic four-piece Sigur Rós confines their penchant for epic post-rock to pop format on their fourth album. Severely right-brained singer Jónsi Birgisson sometimes sings in gibberish so names the first track and single “Gobbledigook.” Therein, tribal beats approach the ears like the speeding dashed lines of a paved road and, off-road, preternatural munchkins hum a chorus of “lalalala” that emits E.T.’s finger glow (and sounds like the band Animal Collective). On optimistic xylophone anthem and P.G. head-banger “Inní mér Syngur Vitleysingur,” Sigur Rós achieves moments of pop-Eureka through use of caesuras amongst metronomic clamor. The concise “Við Spilum Endalaust” and drawn-out “Festival” would have made fitting finales-rugged bass married to teary cantillations; and after that “Suð I Eyrum” mixes Moby with Thor. However, the five remaining tracks suffer an energy crisis. For a band that so evokes Iceland’s physical geography, where’s the abundance of steam?