Customer Reviews
Like a beautiful trance - By: Nick Smith, 18 Jul 2008 
It's hard to really put the experience of listening to this album into words. It is just a relentlessly gorgeous soundscape, even by Sigur Ros' own high standards.
Of all their albums, this is the most seamless. As many listeners have commented, the songs seem to blend into each other, as if they are different movements of one work, & the album as a whole simply encapsulates me.
That is not to say that the mood is a constant throughout. Rather, the melancholy of Track 1 gives way to the gentle & beautiful optimism of Track 3, whilst the mood of Track 4 drifts between the two,in a wonderfully passive, relaxed way. The second half of the album,in contrast, is considerably darker, whilst maintaining the beauty of the first half. It is the darker songs which mark ( ) from Agaetis Byrjun & Takk. Due to this, the album comes across (at least to this listener) as the purest, most emotional, most revealing album by Sigur Ros, & possibly of any band I have heard.
This is a quite exceptional album.
the sound of snowblind angels flying into the sun... - By: S. Scotland, 20 Nov 2007 to appreciate this album, you must listen to it from start to finish, it is utterly sublime.
( ... ) - By: apostrophes&arcadefire, 26 Oct 2007 First of all, don't be scared that it will be depressing. It's dark, emotional & immensely powerful, is what it is. This isn't an album to share headphones for at the bus stop, or put on shuffle on your MP3 player with any other tracks. Possibly the only way to do it is listen to the whole thing,in order,in bedin the middle of the night when no one else can hear you. Or maybe on a plane. Or sitting up a treein a forest after a long bike ride, where birdsong can add to it. They say you're meant to write your own lyrics on the ethereal pages of the booklet (be careful taking this out - it's fragile), & maybe I will one day, but at the moment I'd rather just do soin my head. Everyone on Earth should listen to this album at least once, & then they might just relax even for an hour & a bit. Track 8 is possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. The only problem I can find is that of how to recommend it to your friends - I mean, how do you say it?
strange beauty - By: land of my cowpat, 28 Sep 2007 Writing reviews is not something I normally do, but since this album isin my opinion a masterpiecein very many ways, I feel compelled. It is one of fewin my collection of thousands that really stands out above the rest.
If like me, you think music has the power to evoke places, mood & atmosphere, then you simply must buy this.
I have never come across any music from any other genre that can make you both depressed & elated - at the same time. Its power is awesome. It is utterly hypnotic. These guys from Iceland take you to strange, compelling places you've never been to before - but like flames to moths, you will surely be drawn to those bright, yet dangerously beautiful places again & again.
Be warned though - flying too close can be hazardous...
Powerful and Evocative... - By: Monkey, 03 Mar 2007 ...is two adjectives that come mind for this record. This was my first exposition to Sigur Rós. And on first listen, I was rather bemused. No really I was, the first time I listened, I am not sure I knew what to think, It didn't really make any sense, to the point where it stayedin dark deep bottoms of my CD cupboard until a few months later. Indeed I thought I had made terrible mistake, buying it, after all what attracted me that strange afternoonin HMV, was the beautiful packaging. And Indeed it is beautifully packaged, a crystal white slip case, with paranthesis cut out, covers the jewel case, which itself has just contains blank book of black & white artwork on what I can only describe is soft parchment. You could say it is represenation of what is to come, once you slip it into your cd player. The sparse emptiness of the packaging is certainly a visual metaphor, for the dark empy heavy drones that precede on the album.
Having put the CD on few months later, I finally began to appreciate these were more than ramdom drones, but evocative emotions that transcended language barriers. The album is divided into two parts seperated by a 30 second silence after track 4. It begins with "untitled 1" or "vaka" as known as its known by its working title, which starts off with a desolate piano intro. A feeling of disconnection & emptiness is what drives the both halves of the album, sparse drum beats float, while Birgissons "hopelandic" falsetto coo's lonelyin a gaseous depth strings & other instruements. The second half is rather more aggressive, & definetley more heavy, with the guitars coming through more clearly particularly as the band descend into "untitled 8" (Popplagið"), which has the most unhinged & what I can only describe as the most narcotic drumming climax I have ever heard. Overall this album is definately a slow burner, & is not for the unadventurous, its not an easy album to like & probablly won't win over many new Sigur Rós fans, but it isin my view the most powerful & evocative of thosein Sigur Rós' discography so far.
Highlights...
Its hard to really point out highlightsin this album, as it is really concise & so well balanced, "untitled 4" & "untitled 8", definitely stand out, but otherwise this album is made to be, & is best heard so, all the way through.
