[dgbiker1]

Has anyone else checked out Sigur Ros' new album on Last.fm? They have it streaming for free (until the album is released I assume). I was pretty disappointed by the free track they released earlier, but the full album is breathtaking, easily the best album I've heard in 2008.

(Disclosure: I'm a total SR nut, so it's not too surprising that I love the album

)

 

[aaron313]

I am still so in awe of their first album [EDIT: meant second album, which was their breakthrough] that I have abstained from listening to their other work. Don't want to be let down, which is inevitable.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am still so in awe of their first album that I have abstained from listening to their other work. Don't want to be let down, which is inevitable.

With all due respect, thats just silly.
Every bit of material they put out deserves a listen; most of it is exceptional.

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel /img/forum/go_quote.gif With all due respect, thats just silly. Every bit of material they put out deserves a listen; most of it is exceptional.

Seconded.

Abstaining from trying new things for fear of disappointment is a good way to get VERY bored.

 

[dgbiker1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am still so in awe of their first album that I have abstained from listening to their other work. Don't want to be let down, which is inevitable.

For what it's worth, Von is my least favorite SR album. Obvously, your tastes may differ. I started with () [which I still view as their defining work] and by comparison Von still sounds like SR, but it sounds like a first album in the sense that they were still looking for their sound. They've matured quite a bit over the following albums, so you might like the newer stuff as well.

I think it's important that you don't go into new albums expecting what you've heard from them in the past. Every album they've released has been a pretty big change from the last, even though their signature always comes through clearly.

 

[CLock3]

"Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust". That's quite the album name, haha. Good luck telling people that one when you recommend albums. Sigur Ros is amazing though. One of my favorite bands for sure. I think () is one of my most listened to. Altogether I've got (), Agaetis Byrjun, Hvarf/Heim, and Takk. Amazing stuff though. So far this new album seems good. A bit different of course, but still good. Also, the album translates into "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly". A bit easier to say if you're telling someone about it in person, haha. Well, unless you're icelandic of course.

 

[aaron313]

Even if I thought their other albums were rubbish, it would not make me less impressed of them. It's better to make one landmark record and a bunch of crap than to make all average stuff. Preferably the crap would be avoided if the band is good enough to make one great album.

 

[eeerie1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgbiker1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif (Disclosure: I'm a total SR nut, so it's not too surprising that I love the album )

Really? Your avatar didn't give that away at all!

 

[dgbiker1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeerie1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? Your avatar didn't give that away at all!

hahaha very true, but it takes one to know one

I figured a good portion of people wouldn't recognize the avatar.

New thoughts on the album:
I've listened to the album several times now, and my impressions have changed quite a bit (still very positive). You can tell this album was recorded very quickly, it sounds less "perfect" than other SR albums- you hear Jonsi's voice cut out a few times, you hear fingers on guitar strings, all kinds of little things that I think add some life to the album. In the past, before I heard them live, I always thought everything was done through a computer but with this album you hear the little imperfections and nuances that confirm this music is played by humans with instruments. I find that refreshing.

The one side-effect of the expedited process that I'm still on the fence about is the cohesiveness of the album. Most of their past work, () especially, has been one solid album with songs flowing from one to the next. Takk was maybe a bit more discrete, but persistent themes seemed to continue through the album. Med sud seems to start off cheerfully, then drift towards traditional SR, but the individual songs don't seem to blend together as completely as past albums. Is this good or bad? I don't know. I think the songs are individually stronger as they have to stand alone, but listening to the whole album doesn't have as much of a satisfying, epic feeling at the end. This is the (relatively) easy, accessible Sigur Ros album, and I think embracing it as that is necessary. In some ways I enjoy the shorter, more focused SR since I can now enjoy them in short durations (at work, walking, etc) instead of having to sit down for an hour to enjoy my favorite band

One major positive: At this pace, we won't have to wait 4-5 years for new albums!

 

[krmathis]

Thanks for the info.
I will head over to check it out...

 

[wower]

I've always wanted to try them because there's always a buzz around them in the forum. I wish is was a full album release (ala radiohead) but I'll check them out anyway. Thanks for the info.

 

[sapphiremodena]

I'm a Sigur Ros nut too, and I love this album. My favourite album so far is Takk... and I think it still might be, but I've only listened to this one about 5 or so times, so it could grow. I definitely see what dgbiker says about the album feeling less cohesive than previous efforts. But I'm just loving the big, fun marching band sound of tracks 2 and 4, and the ending of Festival is just amazing. Nothing beats fast Sigur Ros drumming. I'm having fond memories of the DVD's final line of dialogue: "My grandmother was watching on TV, and the end of the song was a bit loud and hectic, she thought something was wrong with the TV so she turned it off."

The main impression that I get from this album is that I really want to see them do lots of this stuff live.

 

[sapphiremodena]

And I just wanted to add... Ara Batur is fantastic. One of their best songs yet, IMHO.

 

[Eric M]

Listened to about 10 seconds of each song, anything longer and my ears would bleed from steaming audio quality.

Anyway, from the little I heard, sounds like another great album. I really enjoyed the Goobledigook 320K MP3 download from their website. Can't wait to hear the full thing in CD quality.

 

[Marl]

Yeah, I think I'll wait for the cd. Lossy doesn't seem like it would compliment Sigur.