Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Takk was an album that had a handful of some of the best songs Sigur Rós has ever recorded somewhat marginalized by a handful of some of the worst. Because of this, what was otherwise a smooth transition from epic sad music to upbeat pop songs was viewed as a step back for the band. With Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (I've yet to even bother trying to pronounce this, and in future conversations will just refer to it as "the newest one" or "the one with the naked dudes on the cover.") they don't seem to try to reinvent themselves as much as they try to do Takk again the right way. An effort that, for the most part, has mixed results.

"Goobledigook" sets the tone for the first half of the album and feels like a natural transition from the sound established on Takk. And just to make sure you're aware that their new sound is here to stay, at three minutes long, it's their shortest song with lyrics but is still loaded with the most beats per minute of anything they've previously done. Surprisingly, it doesn't feel too out of character. Though there are Animal Collective comparisons floating around, no one familiar with the band would mistake this for anyone but Sigur Rós. The following three songs are nice enough but fail to make much of an impression. In comparison to similar songs from Takk like "Hoppípolla" and "Gong", they don't really stand out or give you goosebumps; they merely transition and move the album along. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it works well for the album experience as a whole, but I can imagine skipping them on a randomized playlist.

What Með suð does better than Takk, though, are with the longer songs. While Takk's longer tracks -- outside of the excellent "Sé Lest" -- suffered from being too formulaic for their own good, Með suð's longer songs, including "Festival" and "Ára bátur," don't fall off track so easily. The difference isn't necessarily in the formula, as the crescendo's are quite predictable, but simply in the fact that they don't sound as forced and tacked on (pun avoided; +10 points to xoxobra).

The latter half of the album slows the flow down considerably, for the most part abandoning the upbeat sound of the first half. It may annoy people who wish the band would do something different and stick with it, but I'm fine with the Sigur Rós that goes for achingly beautiful sounds. By doing so, they compromise and give both types of fans what they want.

As mentioned above, this albums works best when listened to all together, which will lead to vastly different opinions on how good or bad the album is. To put it in concrete terms: I don't think they'll ever make another album as good as Ágætis Byrjun (probably one of my top three of all time), and they don't get much closer with this one. But still, I'm not going to fault them for at least trying to move forward.

Score: 6/10


"Gobbledigook"


"Fljótavík"