Review:

on 2011-06-23 CharlesMartel Said:

I have become very ambivalent about this album since I first bought it. This was, after all, the very first album I bought solely on the strength of it being so highly thought of by so many people. I have done that with other albums, My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless", "Grace" by Jeff Buckley and "Spirit of Eden" by Talk Talk to name the three principal ones. Of the four, this is the only one I did not take an almost instant dislike to. Indeed, when I first got it, so different it seemed in comparison with what I was used to that I was completely enraptured by it. Yet over the successive months of listening to it, my opinion has gradually shifted to become much more passive in relation to it.

One problem is the fact that almost all the highly positive reviews I have read of this describe it in the same glowing terms (and often using the same hyperbolic vocabulary) as the prog rock fans did in the early seventies. Terms like atmospheric, haunting, serenely/achingly/inspiringly beautiful all spring to mind, not because I would necessarily use those terms, but because they have become cliches used to describe this album. There is something about post rock, like prog before it, which brings out the pretentious twat in people.

There is also a tendency, more so than any other genre of music I have identified except progressive rock, for individuals to convince other people that if they do not like this then they are somehow not cool, somehow backward, somehow unrefined, somehow lacking in an ability to truly understand and appreciate music. I know the feeling all too well. I fell into that trap when I was a kid and the Yes fans adopted the same patronisingly sneering tone of condescension with me. I therefore have an innate distrust of people who aver that the music they love has given them a superior level of understanding and awareness, that somehow the music has taught them to escape the mundane world and rise to a greater spiritual plane. Unless I can see and feel the same then I am somehow retarded, inadequate, hide-bound. It is no coincidence that people who like this think the Shaggs produced revolutionary minimalist anti-pop or whatever, instead of just being utter rubbish.

So when I realised that this album contains a succession of overly-long pieces comprised principally of droning sounds of various instruments and with lyrics written in an invented dialect of Icelandic sung in a falsetto voice by someone who plays his guitar with a bow, my initial reaction was to think, here we go, some pretentious fart has dug up his copy of "Tales from Topographic Oceans", run it past Google's translator, lit candles and incense and meditated on the ephemeral transience of all consciousness.

So why am I ambivalent? A lot of really hard work was put in by everyone connected with this album, musicians, producers and fans alike to convince me that this is something to avoid unless I want to don a kaftan, put on a pair of open-toed sandals, hug a yew-tree and change my name to Spanglebrain McAcornbollocks. Yet in spite of that, I actually like this. Somehow the tracks seem to come together in a way which I had never anticipated. "Svefn g-Englar" actually is 'hauntingly beautiful'. The vocals are not off-putting, even though for all I know he could be singing

"Banana apricot apple
You are as dumb as an alpaca
If you think this makes any sense."

Worse, the inspiration for the soaring vocals could come from the vocal gymnastics of Mariah Carey for all I know. Yet somehow, it just all fits together. The problem is that this has become mood music for me. It fits a time and a place. It is not something which can induce a change of state in me and therefore, in all honesty, I can hardly rate it along with the greats of my collection.

Each track can be appreciated on its own merit and because of the fact that I do not know what the lyrics mean, I can appreciate it on that level without worrying about what it says. I can behave oddly while listening to this, lying naked on the floor in pitch black with earphones on, simply because I can interpret this any way I want. Yes, the musicality is excellent and yes it does go on a bit, but that does not detract from the fact that this is damn fine stuff.

And no, I think the Shaggs are dreadful.
Rating: 8/10

Review:

on 2007-08-04 hstisgod Said:

fantasic intro, and even better closing. I think you're taking the lead for the best writer named Kevin on the site...lmao.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-08-04 SolitaryMan Said:

This is just one big, beautiful, sometimes depressing album. Not to do the band disservice with such a broad-sweeping statement, mind you. The depth of Sigur Ros' emotive orchestral post-rock is endless, and whether they're using the build-and-release method or just letting the listener hang on a sad little melody for half a song, they always leave you hanging on. It's quite impressive for a band who comes from near obscurity to reach the level of popularity Sigur Ros has, and this album was really the launching point for their careers. They've improved since (which is fucking scary), but never will they be as honest and poignant again. This album feels like it comes from a pure, untainted soul, free of the constraints and painfulness of the world around it. It's tough to explain, and that fact alone (coupled with the band's ability to back up their 'words' with 'force', so to speak) makes the album worthy of checking out. You may never hear anything as pure and powerful as this elsewhere.
Rating: 8/10

Review:

on 2007-07-10 hstisgod Said:

Kev, you're coming along quicker than I thought never thought you'd know who Sigur is... Terrific album!
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-07-10 kevinare Said:

sigur ros is an amazing group. implanning on reviewing takk soon. i like this review. if i had to pick a band to play at my funeral it would have to be these guys. haha
Not Rated