any fans here? i only got into them recently (just over year ago) and saw them live for the first time the other night at Westminster Methodist Hall, and they were absolutely STUNNING! best gig of the year and one of the best ive been to ever fullstop! people tend to tag them as 'the Icelandic Radiohead' or use terms like 'etheral' and 'dream-like', which only goes halfway to describing how beautiful their music is. their stuff goes from giant epics with orchestral backing to simple piano ballads.

they generally sing in Icelandic or in a made-up language (Hopelandic) so the majority of people wont have a clue what they sing about, but that adds to the mystery of the band (similarly to the Cocteau Twins). Jonsi Birgisson has one of the truly great male voices of this generation. i think he's better than the likes of Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke and so on. i didnt think he could replicate it live, but he does. 

theyre probably a challenging band to get into, but patience will be rewarded. they are truly brilliant. '( )' is probably my favourite album of theirs. the new album 'Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust' came out on Monday and is well worth getting. its probably their most accessible and radio-friendly material.

 people curious should look up 'Hoppipola'. it will definatel ring a few bells when you hear it cos its been used on TV to death (BBC's 'Planet Earth series; 2006 FA Cup; 2006 FIFA World Cup).
 

 

 

i have 2 of their Albums, really would like to see them live, will have to keep an eye out. i will have to get their new Album now, cheers

They are soundtrackers supreme. Takk is one of my favourite records of all time. I am really looking forward to hearing the new album which I believe once translated is called - With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly. They are also headlining Benicàssim on the first night which is going to be really beautiful.

its definately fitting to see them in nice surroundings like Spain at an outdoor event. it fits the music. im well jealous! usually i wouldnt be arsed about this kind of thing with bands, but Sigur Ros are an exception. theyre touring all over the shop in the autumn/winter, so im seeing them in Bournemouth and London. cant wait for that!

 i also tracked down their debut album 'Von' (it wasnt released outside of Iceland until 2003 and is still quite rare), which is absolutely breathtaking! its pretty accessible for beginners, mostly instrumental soundtrack-esque music. very very good for listening to in the summer whilst lounging around drinking fizzy drinks.

 
for those interested, the setlist from the Westminster Methodist Hall gig was:

* Svefn-g-englar
* Glósóli
* Sé Lest
* Ný Batteri
* Við spilum endalaust
* Hoppípolla
* Með Blóðnasir
* Fljótavík
* Viðrar vel til loftárása
* Sæglópur
* Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
* Olsen Olsen
* Hafssól
* Gobbledigook
* Popplagið (Untitled 8) [encore]
* All alright [second encore]

 ...used to love them, the new album is poo though. so much so they've brought out that secret weapon - the english language to add excitement, otherwise its sr on autopilot/by numbers... sad to see, but oh well...

I'm undecided whether to go and see them later in the year.

There are post-rock bands I like a lot more than Sigur Rós, but I still have three albums (four when the new one arrives), and like some of their stuff; I have an amazing live version of Heima. I also bought their limited edition Heima DVD and book, but that was mainly because I'm in love with Iceland as a country.

 

  ^  theyre definately worth seeing live. i'd never seen them live before up to the Westminster Hall gig and was a casual fan i suppose. i didnt have any expectations of the gig, there was no hype for me and i wasnt sure how it would translate from record to a live perfomance either but i was pleasently surprised and completely blown away! prior to that gig i had previously proclaimed The Cure as the best gig of 2008 so far, which was displaced by Goldfrapp, which was in turn displaced by Portishead, followed by My Bloody Valentine and now Sigur Ros has snatched that title from all these gigs in one go. i got tickets for 2 dates of the winter tour and am hoping to see them at Electric Picnic in Ireland as well. theyre my new favourite band at the moment.

 the new album is probably the weakest of them all. its still a really decent album, but im unsure whether the upbeat sound suits them or not. although 'Takk...' was optimistic sounding, it had a slightly mournful vibe to alot of the songs as well, sort of bittersweet. i guess the new one may grow on me as time goes on.
 

 ^^neah the new album really is poo trust me. I'm on the srmb and I've known diehard fans go completely off them. their time is over, it really is sad to see - but this is sinking ship, a band with no more ideas left, and dissappearing to the musical abyss of dullness.  people keep on arguing its the "optimisitic" sound that is maybe the problem, its not, its lack innovation, its like listening to the boring parts of takk that were at the tail end of that album.  it really is annoying for me, I adored them for so long, like no other band, and my interest/love was waning anyway little,  bit and I wasn't expecting anythign revolutionary for this album, but it really is worse than I thougt it would be...

 edit: by the way I was such fan of theirs I had tried to acquire everything they released by them. I never do that for bands, I only ever buy the things I like, but now I feel like selling all those things... the albums are the only things worth keeping, although I may keep the vinyls - they're pretty....

Isn't this the first album they haven't produced themselves? I think they recorded it all live too.

^^yeah they had flood producing it. it wasn't all recorded live - no, I don't think any band would really do that and deffo not sr.  it was first record to be recorded outside iceland, in new york, havana and the uk... and is probs one of many reason why its absolute poo...

in last months Q Magazine there was a feature on Sigur Ros where the writer stayed with the band and oversaw part of the album-making process (the last 6 weeks of it before it was to be mastered). by the sounds of the article the album was really rushed due to the deadline given to the band by the record label. when Q asked the band about the song titles Jonsi said that the lyrics werent even finished yet! i dunno if Jonsi meant it as a joke, but when asked whether they felt pressure because of the looming deadline (it was 2 weeks before it was due to be mastered at this point) Kjartan (bassist) said 'no'. even the sleeve was something they almost just grabbed last minute because the first idea fell through. that may be why it seems initially substandard compared to their past albums. i quite like it, but bits of it im in two minds over.

the band themselves seemed happy about it, but then its the done thing for any band to praise their latest work!