With a recently released album and an upcoming film, the epic Icelandic post-rock quartet Sigur Rós is having a busy end of the year. For those unfamiliar with the term "post-rock," it is a genre in between rock and experimental that uses typical rock instruments - guitars, bass, drums - but utilizes non-rock musical theory. Instead of power chords, post-rockers focus on texture and timbre. More often than not, post-rock bands write instrumental music, widely incorporating characteristics of jazz, electronic, ambient, and orchestral music. If vocals are used, they are usually more for an aural effect than a literary one - as demonstrated by Sigur Rós' vocalist Jonsi Birgisson, who sings with a falsetto like Radiohead's Thom Yorke.
Sigur Rós, formed in 1994, takes its name after Birgisson's sister, who is named Sigurrós and was born the same day the band was formed. Soon after writing their material, the group got a record deal with the record label Bad Taste, which was owned by the Sugarcubes - Björk's band before she went solo. Since releasing their debut Von in 1997, the band has become astoundingly popular throughout the world.
Sigur Rós' latest album, Hvarf/Heim, isn't a new album per se, but a double-disc compilation album. The Hvarf disc has studio versions of unreleased songs except for "Hafósl," which was released as the B-side of Hoppípolla in 2005. The Heim disc has acoustic versions of released songs - allegedly recorded at a recent performance for the band member's family and friends in Iceland. Hvarf means disappeared or haven and Heim means home in Icelandic. If you liked Takk or ( ), you will enjoy the Hvarf disc, in my opinion. The new songs are true to the Sigur Rós composition formula - epically crescendoing, ethereal ambience. If anything, the album is a slower and heavier than previous material.
The first track on Hvarf - "Salka" - is named after bassist Georg Holm's stepdaughter. Jonsi's falsetto is almost angelically high-pitched so if you don't like high-pitched, "whining" vocals, this song might annoy you. He essentially repeats the same phrase throughout the entire song, but the result is mesmerizing. It accompanied by a simple guitar part and gentle, droning percussion that follows a simple oscillating rhythm. Even in its loudest sections, the song is soft.
"Hljómalind," the second track on Hvarf, was formerly known as "Rokklagið" ("The Rock Song"). If you're just getting familiar with Sigur Rós, this song is the best exposition of their beautiful epic composition in the entire compilation. With cascading drums and glacial chimes, the song would feel right at home on Takk.
"Í Gær," the third track on Hvarf, was formerly known as "Lagið Í Gær" ("Yesterday"). It catches your attention right from the beginning with a beautiful passage of overlapping, intertwining chimes, bells, and synthesizer. They've often experimented with this in their later albums. This ambience abruptly throws you into an aural abyss of distortion from Jonsi's guitar and cello bow combination (somewhat similar to Jimmy Page back in '60s and '70s). Like in most Sigur Rós songs, the switching dynamics is the crucial feature. Jonsi's falsetto is less noticeable.
"Von" ("Hope") was originally released on Sigur Rós' 1997 debut Von, their least-ambient album, containing a lot of traditional rock songs with dream pop and shoegaze elements. This version of the song is slower, with organic drums.
"Hafsól" ("Sea Sun") was, again, included on the b-side of Hoppípolla in 2005 and originally released on Von. At the beginning, it's a sprawling, intimate song of ambience and droning from the bass and guitar along with gentle percussion, mostly comprised of cymbal taps. Toward the middle of the song, the abrupt strings in the background produce an energetic feeling until it proceeds into an anarchic, seemingly improvised frenzy and then again into the ambience of a flute melody and synthesizers.
The tracks on Heim are acoustic-orchestral versions of the originals. The orchestral parts were performed by Amiina, who often accompany the band on tours.
"Samskeyti" ("Extension") was originally released on the album ( ), which is colloquially known as the "untitled" album. This version of the song has a beautiful, outspread piano melody accompanied by strings.
I also enjoyed the versions of "Starálfur" ("Staring Elf") and "Ágætis Byrjun" ("Good Start") was originally released on Ágætis Byrjun.
Overall, this compilation is great, particularly for fans of the band. If you're new to Sigur Rós, it's probably best to start with Takk or Ágætis Byrjun. Nonetheless, I'm even more excited for the release of Heima, a documentary - surely full of eye-popping cinematography - on the band's 2006 tour of their homeland. It will feature music from this compilation - quite the soundtrack for the gossamer landscapes of Iceland. A-
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