Why the hate for Sigur Ros?

oh, come on...new single is fuckin' great. sounds like a mixture of animal collective and peter gabriel. the video is full of naked people running in a forest. and the album is produced by flood. how can anyone not be excited about this?

seems like all ilm wants nowadays is a dfa beat to shake their asses to.

tell me about this new album, these dudes are all right.

this new song is the first i've ever heard by them and it's incredible

More info on the new album at http://sigurros.com/fifth-album.asp and free download of the first track at http://sigurros.com/dvd3.asp

Also, there's an album special at the http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk with more to come.

more flood, less sigur ros

I loved Agaetis Byjrun (sic) when it came out; quickly getting into Cocteau Twins and Talk Talk made it seem a lot less impressive. The {} album left me a big 'meh', but I quite liked Takk initially. Any antipathy from me towards them probably comes from seeing them live in 2000 or maybe early 2001 at Shepherd's Bush Empire; they played mainly from a soundtrack thing they'd done, and I just wasn't feeling it. We left halfway, wet to Walkabout, and watched Aussies bottle fight. Plus the ubiquity of that tune on BBC nature documentary trailers has left it slightly over familiar.

Or; I thought Vidrar Vel Til Loftarosa was AMAZING until I heard Bloodrush by Bark Psychosis and realised that the EXACT SAME SONG with the EXACT SAME BASS SOUND THAT I LOVED had been done 8 or 9 years prior.

I don't mind the influences as long as the end result works, and to me, it does. Don't like that Odin's Raven Magic thing you saw either, so fair enough.

Oh, and I don't like Agaetis Byrjun that much anymore, my favourite by far is ( )

It's not that I mind the influences - I love them - I just... it's not Sigur Ros's fault, but so many people I know were full of praise for their originality and otherworldliness, and then you realise... not original at all, and go back to source and stay there. It's the music snob way!

I think the brevity of their acoustic performances in Heima is what got me back into them after feeling a little battered by the BBC or whoever's overuse of those songs from Takk.

The new song might as well BE Animal Collective. The only problem is that Animal Collective sucks balls now and Sigur Ros is ripping off their newer stuff.

I'm excited for the new album if only because, based on this track, it's gonna be different. I loved AB when it came out and have loyally purchased everything else (well, not Heima), but the epic/ambient thing was getting pretty damn tired by Takk. It sounds like they are trying to reinvent themselves with this new track, which they sorely need to do.

more flood, less sigur ros

This ^^^

Hmmm Nick, I find that surprising. Cocteau Twins and Talk Talk aside, can't you appreciate the fact that Agaetis Byrjun *sounds* excellent? And I mean, really sounds incredible. To me it's skill lies in its use of space, not so much that they use it all that well, but they certainly give off the illusion that they're recording in outer space, or the bottom of the ocean, or some other far-fetched geographic or universal location. Isn't that why there's some weird alien-angel fetus on the cover? Isn't that part of its mystery?

Also, I remember hearing lots of Radiohead comparisons, and they sound nothing like Radiohead.

Nick, Agaetis Byrjun would be pretty excellent on those chest-high speakers you got. Loud. In the dark. With the drugs.

Sigur Ros + drugs of any sort = laughable

People snarkily making jokes about taking drugs to music = predictable.

Why would you assume I was making a joke at all? Much less a snarky one? I like the band, ok, they're often lovely, and yes, I do indeed believe, in all sincerity, that mild to mid-grade hallucinogens would perfectly suit a dedicated listening.

Not that I have tried it. I'm more of an uppers/free-jazz guy lately.

I know, people altering their consciousness and listening to music, GAWD it's so passe.

wasn't directed at you, kenan.

Oh.

super earnest grocery store music for the future. no edge whatsoever. horrible music to take drugs to i'd think. maybe wine and vico would work. something about icelandic artists i hate.

horrible music to take drugs to i'd think.

this is OTM; i wasn't talking about taking drugs to music in general, as talrose suggests, just that Sigur Ros in particular are not at all suited for this. (and i think talrose knows this, he's just being snooty)

I didn't. But I appreciate the rebuttal.

maybe wine and vico would work.

Nah, "Future Days" is my go-to wine and vico album. Slot's been taken. :)

excellent choice. mine is Biosphere's Dropsonde.

did sigur ros become the standard bbc documentary soundtrack band before or after "the life aquatic"?

i thought Staralfur fit that one scene perfectly. you could almost believe it was a real shark.

Hmmm Nick, I find that surprising. Cocteau Twins and Talk Talk aside, can't you appreciate the fact that Agaetis Byrjun *sounds* excellent? And I mean, really sounds incredible. To me it's skill lies in its use of space, not so much that they use it all that well, but they certainly give off the illusion that they're recording in outer space, or the bottom of the ocean, or some other far-fetched geographic or universal location. Isn't that why there's some weird alien-angel fetus on the cover? Isn't that part of its mystery?

I'll have to go back to it. Thing is, I only ever liked three tunes - the single, it's b-side (Vidrar Vel Til Loftarosa, as mentioned) and Olsen Olsen, all of which (Olsen Olsen in particular) I remember sounding awesome. I've not listened to it in years, though. I'll try and revisit this weekend.

I've barely touched any drugs whatsoever in 8 years.

Vi&rar Vel Til Loftirasa is by FAR my favourite Sigur Ros song. This thread in fact inspired me to make it my first post-exam-laptop-retrieval spin. Most of their other efforts don't cut it in comparison.

xpost Olsen Olsen is a fine song indeed, particularly the lovely version on the film, with the strings and brass band going at it full tilt.

Man, not that I'm especially keen on thread derailments but a Cardiacs handle? Colour me impressed.

Olsen Olsen is good, definitely my second-fave on the album (although behind a couple of () tracks in the great holistic ranking). The riff is just a tad simple for my tastes, if anything.

Well thats kind of been the Sigur Ros template, cycle around two or three nice sounding major or minor 7th chords for 8 mins with maybe a 'chorus' change of chord/pace/texture and hey presto...

I know that's a little harsh but it did occur an awful lot.

30-second clips

"vidrar vel til loftarosa" (assuming that this is the song i think it is: exquisite piano-led melody, about halfway through the second-album-that-everyone-thinks is the first album, yeh?) was pretty much "our song" back in 2000 :)

i'm really not entirely sure about the new single. it is borderline fucking irritating. mrs fiendish is somewhat more damning about it.

clip @ abbey road with the orchestra

http://dot.sigurros.com/widget/ (click the film camera and then the first link - watch out, if you remain at http://dot.sigurros.com/widget/ without clicking anything the video is NSFW - nudity)

Sigur Ros=Icelandic Clannad

this ^^

nope, still a fan. can't hear you. lalalalala! ;-)

4 preorder options @ http://sigurros.com

Anyone see Heima yet? It's just glorious.

I don't think anyone ever answered StanM's question. Personally, Heima might well be my favourite music-related DVD that I own, or have ever seen; I just keep returning to it. I like Sigur Rós while sort of understanding a lot of the criticism, but I absolutely love this thing. There's a visceral feel to it, like you can feel the warmth in the heart of a cold country or something. It's lovely.

what's the deluxe edition look like/come with?
if it's just a bigger pictures of some man ass, i don't think i want it.

they are probably not worthy of anyone's hate, but they are certainly over praised. even the much heralded live show, which is still about a thousand times better than how the band sounds on disc, was cripplingly laboured and dull for me. i was probably meant to get enthused about the vague little aesthetic flourishes on stage, but for me they didn't contribute much to the sound and dynamic of the band, which while polished, left me rather on the nonplussed side.

xpost: deluxe Heima only contains an extra picture book, disc content is exactly the same. Nice, but very much fan-only, to be honest.

dOES extra picture book COME WITH DFA BEAT?

lol

album stream

just bought new cd.
listening now.
sounds great.
no dfa beats.

I'm really liking this one so far. The Animal Collective bite on "Gobbledigook" is great, as is the really upbeat second track. Track 7 is my favorite of the bunch I think.

Revived this specifically to mention how much the new single is a flagrant Animal Collective rip. Because I just saw the video for it, which features lots of hot totally naked hipsters running through the forest (it looks like a specific Vice photoshoot I once mocked while ogling desperately).

I never had much interest in this band, but I loved the tune and the video!

Was just watching Heima on Pitchfork.tv - I used to play Agaetis Byrjun quite often back in the day. Everything they released afterwards made me fall out of love with the band and that album. I never realized how limited their sound palette and ideas are until I heard the rest of their catalogue. They do make a really strong impression on people not accostumed to slowcore tho.

I pick Svefn-G-Englar and throw away the rest.

Oh yes, that said, Heima is actually worth watching, if only for the very pleasant cinematography.

I love Heima, think its one of the best (and certainly most beautiful) music films I've seen.