Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós's latest is positively festooned with danger signs: first album to be mainly recorded outside its home base of Iceland, first to feature a track sung in English, and the first co-produced by a big-shot dial-twister (Flood, of Depeche Mode fame). Somehow, though, this series of seemingly suspect compromises...

By Michael Roberts

June 26, 2008

Audio By Carbonatix

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Sigur Rós's latest is positively festooned with danger signs: first album to be mainly recorded outside its home base of Iceland, first to feature a track sung in English, and the first co-produced by a big-shot dial-twister (Flood, of Depeche Mode fame). Somehow, though, this series of seemingly suspect compromises actually brings out new and beguiling qualities in the band. The new material ranks among the most accessible offerings Jón "Jónsi" Thor Birgisson and his cohorts have issued, but tunes such as "vid spilum endalaust," featuring a rapturous Brian Wilson-meets-Mr. Freeze arrangement, prove to be wonderfully uplifting, not commercially grasping. As a bonus, "all alright," the aforementioned English-language ditty, is as difficult to understand as any of the stuff warbled in Icelandic. Thanks for maintaining some mystery.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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