Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

[Drew Beringer]

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Record Label: XL Recordings

The beauty and joy of life encompasses me everyday. I see beauty when I look in my girlfriend's eyes. I feel it in the breeze during a mild summer day in Wisconsin. I feel it in the quiet stillness of cold winter day that's been greeted with a fresh blanket of snow. I see, feel, and touch beauty all around me. And the perfect soundtrack for this is Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, the fifth studio album from Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (translation: With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly) follows up 2005's [i]Takk...[i], but carries a different vibe than all four of their previous albums. It's loose and free, as evidenced by the album's opening track,the cheerful "Gobbledigook," which sounds like a romp through a field on a lazy summer afternoon. "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" begins with vibrant horns and booming drums which pace this upbeat track. One thing worth noting is that this album is very lean; it's not as lengthy as previous efforts, thus making Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust just a bit more accessible.

"Góðan daginn" displays the delicate and pristine vocals of Jón Þór Birgisson. Personally, since I am not fluent in their language, I've always treated Birgisson's voice as another instrument, as his voice is as smooth and soothing as ever. The nearly nine and half minute opus, "Festival," is breathtaking. Paced by organs and a slick frenzy of sped-up drums and strings towards the end, the song is equally muscular and gentle. "Illgresi" is a simple yet calming acoustic ballad, while "Með suð í eyrum" sounds majestic, with swirling piano chords from Kjartan Sveinsson and a steady beat courtesy of Orri Páll Dýrason.

The dreamy interlude "Straumnes" leads up to album closer, "All alright," the first track the band has ever released recorded in English. It's haunting, as a simple piano chord and Birgisson's falsetto faintly hang on. It's chilling, suspenseful, and intimate.

For a band that creates this kind of music, it would be very easy for Sigur Rós to fall into monotony; following the same kind of formula. Thankfully, they've progressed with each album, and Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is no different, as it takes the band's music into somewhat of a new direction. It begins with sunshine and closes with a sunset. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust features familiar mannerisms while throwing in a few new tricks. It rises, it falls, it clashes, it soothes. Breathe in and take in its beauty, as Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust not only has the potential to be one of the best albums of 2008, it has the potential to be the best album of Sigur Rós' career.

Track Listing:
1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
3. Góðan daginn
4. Við spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Með suð í eyrum
7. Ára bátur
8. Illgresi
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All alright
Produced by: Sigur Rós and Flood

Sigur Rós are:
Jón Þór Birgisson – vocals, guitar, bowed guitar, keyboards, harmonica, banjo
Georg Hólm – bass guitar, glockenspiel
Kjartan Sveinsson – keyboard, piano, organs, guitar, flute, tin whistle, oboe, banjo
Orri Páll Dýrason – drums, keyboards

Official Website (http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/); Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/sigurros); AP.net Profile (http://www.absolutepunk.net/sigurros)

[BrokenMirror]

very nice review. i adore this band

[Vismund_Cygnus]

Excellent review as always, Drew.

Fantastic record! This could be my favorite record of 2008. Sigur Ros is amazing!

[Andrew Love]

great review drew! works somewhere in my top 10 for 2008 so far.

[TooLateF0rRoses]

on the reviews page it said author rating of 79 or something so i came in here extra quick. I was glad to see the actual rating was 93.. great review and even better album

[Sic Transit Zeb]

i love the album but i personally like takk better

[yoyoninjagirl]

great review! I really enjoy this record.

[huntingbears]

great review.

one of my(if not my) favorites of the year

[Un'Aria Ancora]

Excellent review man. Sunrise to sunset is right on.

[chrstianrocker]

just an FYI, but in the second paragraph you have "noting" written as "nothing" and in the last paragraph you left out the "a" as the second word.

On another note... I've never listened to them before, so would you recommend any tracks to check out before buying the whole thing, or another album to start with alltogether?

[Drew Beringer]

just an FYI, but in the second paragraph you have "noting" written as "nothing" and in the last paragraph you left out the "a" as the second word.

On another note... I've never listened to them before, so would you recommend any tracks to check out before buying the whole thing, or another album to start with alltogether?
Their myspace has a great handful of songs to listen to. Check em.

[aolsux]

four capitalized letters:

AOTY

[Until The Bombs]

Great album.

[Drew Beringer]

on the reviews page it said author rating of 79 or something so i came in here extra quick. I was glad to see the actual rating was 93.. great review and even better album
haha yeah, it does that when you don't rate everything, but there's no way I can rate the lyrics on this, I'm sure they are wonderful though.

[hydraulicheart]

Sigur Rós is everything beautiful in the world composed into music. Great album, great review, Drew.

[newfoundmichael]

I love this album. So beautiful.

[airik625]

nice review, great album.

[bowl of oranges]

good review.

[yummysushi]

never been a fan until this record. its brilliant really.

[nhoium]

AOTY, so far...

[Sic Transit Zeb]

Sigur Ros are probably the only truly essential band of the 00's.

I wouldn't say the only band but they're def on the list

[Poochemist]

My dad just told me today that he bought this album. I'll have to give it a spin.

[Drew Beringer]

Their lyrics are actually really simple, bit of an anti climax. I'm kind of glad I can't understand them.
Ah I see, I've never tried to translate them, so yeah I don't really know.

[...generic...]

All Alright has more to offer than just his falsetto...he begins the track with that low groan. The high piano parts cut right through you on that song. Drew where did you go by the way?

[Drew Beringer]

All Alright has more to offer than just his falsetto...he begins the track with that low groan. The high piano parts cut right through you on that song. Drew where did you go by the way?
Wisconsin to be with the family, classes were over for me, I'll be back in August though.

[caseyonthecoast]

awesome review. this album is soo beautiful.

[SoCoSquid4]

(love WI reference in the beginning too---totally understand what you mean with it)

[MarkyMark1984]

great review drew! i'm excited to get my hands on this album!

[panicbxmb]

amazing album, great review.

and they were amazing last week in NYC. seeing them live is life changing, honestly. anyone else who was there knows what i mean.

[doyouhas?]

God I love this album. It's AOTY for me by far.

Why are the user ratings so low?

[handlikesecret]

awesome review Drew!

[vandalroyale]

great review drew! works somewhere in my top 10 for 2008 so far.

Top 10 CD's or reviews?

[patpratt]

i love this band. but they seem like douche bags...eh

[Özgür Kurtoglu]

I can get the lyrics translated, if you want 'em that is. Seeing 79% as the total really bothers me now that I know that it's actually much higher...

[Sic Transit Zeb]

#

Radiohead too but they are nineties as well. Other than that I can think of no one. Depends if you count all those bland rock bands like Coldplay, Foo Fighters etc..

Coldplay and Foo Fighters are a lot more accessible, obviously. Not many of my friends ilke Sigur Ros, actually none do. They don't listen music to the extent I do, so I understand but here in the States, and I think in most English speaking countries it's kind of hard to get over the whole other language thing etc. I love them though. I agree with the other kid, I'm glad I can't understand their lyrics cuz from what I've read they're pretty straight forward. Plus, I think of my own in my head when i listen anyways.

Gotta love this album, although my two fav songs...Festival was left out :(

[contend in vain]

great review! just picked this up earlier today

[ringlord]

haha yeah, it does that when you don't rate everything, but there's no way I can rate the lyrics on this, I'm sure they are wonderful though.

It's good to see you gave vocals a 10 to supplement that. Even if we can't understand what they are talking about they still deserve credit for the sound of the words.

[oldwirehands]

I've been hearing good things about this album. If only I wasn't a starving a musician who can't afford to buy all the music he wants. Fuck money!

[secondsunrise]

best album release since takk. album of the year hands down. no one can even compare to this bands music.

[xsinkshipsx]

I love sigur ros...I can hardly view their album as just music....to me it is like a listening experience to takes me to different places emotionally....I am so excited for this

[burnout]

this review was great

[Gustavatron.]

Straumnes is so Villa Del Refugio, which is a great, great thing.

I love this album, and my mother does too. The upbeat songs are amazing. I'm quite puzzled, though, because they said in the Takk... recording videos that they never wanted to be a pop band. Aren't they a pop band now, in a way?

[Drew Beringer]

Straumnes is so Villa Del Refugio, which is a great, great thing.

I love this album, and my mother does too. The upbeat songs are amazing. I'm quite puzzled, though, because they said in the Takk... recording videos that they never wanted to be a pop band. Aren't they a pop band now, in a way?
Nah, they still aren't a pop band, but there are pop sensibilities on this album throughout, at least in the first half of the album.

[Gustavatron.]

Nah, they still aren't a pop band, but there are pop sensibilities on this album throughout, at least in the first half of the album.
So, they're a post-pop band?

I want to press that how popular they are should push them further towards being a pop band.
I have no idea if my definition of pop is right though, so bear with me.

[saving jonathan]

I've heard about these guys over and over again, but I've never given them a chance.
I hit up their myspace and it's just ultra-soothing stuff. I dig it.

For some reason it reminds me of the movie Gladiator.

[Domenic182]

Just an amazing album.
I'm so glad I bought it.

[boykosaurus]

I heard a few songs on NPR and they were extremely different but still amazing.

[pacemaker]

Wouldn't romping on a lazy Sunday make that Sunday anything but lazy?

[Ryzenfall]

The new variety is a good addition. I never thought i'd want to buy an entire album from them, but maybe this release will change that.

[kozy21]

best album release since takk. album of the year hands down. no one can even compare to this bands music.

They haven't released anything since Takk.. so how can you say it's the best release Takk..?

You can't count Heima or Hvarf-Heim either. There should be a minimum of 2 releases inbetween when you say it's their best release since a prior album.

To whomever said they've never felt the need to buy a full album by Sigur Ros before, don't buy this one because you do not deserve to.

[Gustavatron.]

They haven't released anything since Takk.. so how can you say it's the best release Takk..?

You can't count Heima or Hvarf-Heim either. There should be a minimum of 2 releases inbetween when you say it's their best release since a prior album.

But other bands have released albums. Maybe he's not stupid.

[Praetor]

#

Radiohead too but they are nineties as well. Other than that I can think of no one. Depends if you count all those bland rock bands like Coldplay, Foo Fighters etc..
Well to be fair Agaetis Byrjun came out in '99 and that was their breakout album but close enough.

[mikemosh]

sigur rós is the best band in the world. know how i can tell? because this is their weakest album yet, and for my money it's the album of the year. so even on a bad day, sigur rós is still better than any other band's best.

[chelseaxsmilexD]

i'm just waiting for timb89 to come over to this thread and have a sigur ros orgasm.

[xidon]

Very good album. Another classic, but i dont think it's as good as their previous efforts.

[LemonHazey72]

Really good review. You captured the scenery perfectly, especially in the opening paragraph. Well thought-out usage of words, it creates that calming, still motion picture that their music endeavours to put us through really nicely.
Like a few have quoted, I really like the "begins with sunshine and closes with sunset" link. Lovely wording. Personally I still prefer '( )' out of Sigur Ros's back catalogue altogether, but 'Med Sud I Eyrum...' comes a close second along with 'Takk'. Like you've noticed, what I dig greatly about this album is the 'freedom' vibe, highlated more so by the artwork and the introduction to a stranger and more innovative use of instruments in a few of the songs.
Great album, great review. Congrats.