Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 With a buzz in our ears, we play endlessly... June 24, 2008
Sor_Fingers (Boulder, CO USA)
14 out of 25 found this review helpful
That is what Sigur Ros's 2008 studio album, Me su i eyrum vi spilum endalaust, translates to in English. This album sees the band breaking some new ground. This album is essentially a follow-up to two different Sigur Ros projects: the first being the emotional tour-de-force Takk... and the band's recent documentary, Heima, in which the band travels all over the Icelandic countryside doing shows for the people of the villages, many of them with very stripped down acoustic sets. If you've heard the first single, Gobbledigook, and you think Sigur Ros has sold out, think again. Granted this song is very much outside of their artistic tendencies, but this opening cut is really an outlier on the album. The rest of the album is very much a more optimistic, nonetheless, very Sigur Ros album. While we hear songs of epic scale like "Festival" and "Ara batur," we also hear more folky, stripped down arrangements from the band, most notably in "Illgresi." I think Sigur Ros is trying with this album to appeal to a broader audience without losing their soul to the music industry, and I think they've done it. This is evidenced by the band using more conventional and complicated song structures rather than repeating structures that unfold in an ebb and flow kind of way, varied instrumentation, shorter song lengths, shorter overall album length, and surprisingly enough, one song with ENGLISH lyrics. I think the band has found a niche with this album, being able to appeal to more than the people who listen to what Pitchfork media and Bob Boilen tell them to listen to, and yet, I think Pitchfork media and Bob Boilen will also tell us to listen to them. I think that with Me su i eyrum vi spilum endalaust, the music snobs (of which I am a proud member) and the general public will find common ground. And with the nude frolickers on the cover art, who wouldn't at least be intrigued by this quartet from Iceland led by a guy who prefers to play his guitar with a cello bow?
Best album of 2008 June 26, 2008
Manny Hernandez (Palo Alto, CA)
14 out of 22 found this review helpful
I had a mixed reaction when I started listening to the "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust" by Sigur Ros. The opening song was just not like your typical Sigur Ros: it was too... pop.. I was confused: was this Death Cab for Cutie? Had I clicked on the wrong MP3 on iTunes? "Gobbledigook" turned out to be a poppier track, indeed, but even at performing pop they rocked!
From the second track, you go back into familiar Sigur Ros territory. The main difference (besides the opening track) this time around is that the band gets more intimate, with acoustic guitar-based tracks, such as "Godan daginn" and "Illgresi," and quiet piano-based tracks like "Fljotavik," the closing "All Alright" and "Ara batur" (which later evolves into a majestic epic that only they could have recorded).
After 8 listens, the album keeps growing on me. There is only one other album that could be as good this year (though it most likely will be in second place: Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow by Hammock. Otherwise, Sigur Ros did it again and make any wait for their music worth every minute.
 They have lost their touch. June 25, 2008
Mr.V (Atlanta, Georgia)
9 out of 32 found this review helpful
Agaetis Byrjun, () and takk are incredible albums. Even still, I get so much power and emotion from them. Their last album was a step down, but still enjoyable to me. Now, they have produced this. Unfortunately, this is not the sigur ros sound I love. This album sounds like a completely different, poppier group. Their last album was heading this way and now they are there. Everybody, if you love the albums I have mentioned (earlier work), this will be a dissapointment. If your fond of their more recent works, enjoy. However, for me, this is bad music.
A new direction, great sound June 26, 2008
vedderoh1 (NJ United States)
9 out of 17 found this review helpful
It would be truly unfair to compare "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust" to Sigur Ros's previous three records. First, this offers a new direction in sound and has little to do with their ethereal if entrancing previous LP's. Second, it incorporates a more joyous view on every track. And thirdly, how can one compare four albums that flow like a continuous stream, with music so dispair and no lyrics whatsoever?
The departure from the beautiful yet claustrophobic sound of their first two albums can already be heard on some tracks form Takk, but it isn't until the first track and lead single of Med Sud... that we see that they can as well succeed as a "pop" band.
As absurd as it appears, this is just one of those albums that needs to be listened to from beginning to end to be appreciated in all its beauty and complexity. Do not be fooled by the simplicity of opening track: there are some gems mixed in with the radio friendgly stuff(to name one, 'Festival", one of the best songs they've ever composed) that make this record strong from every corner it's seen.
That said, Med Sud is a grower. Its appeal will not show immediately like it did with Takk or even Untitled, but it grows in magnificence slowly with every listen.
The live rendition of the new songs is outstanding as well. If you are lucky to have them play near your hometown go see them by all means. One can only witness the complete Sigur Ros experience (music and feelings) by seeing them play live.
If this review lacks of any concrete mention to specific tracks is because I consider it incomplete to dissect an entire piece by unit. I recommend this record to anyone who liked or even to those whose liking was manning after Takk. It will sound like a nice fresh surprise and get you back on track with their music.
 Making Music and/or Money June 24, 2008
Gyoergy MAROSI (Hungary)
6 out of 18 found this review helpful
Quite acceptable: after making exciting music the time came to make ordenary money... No problem with that but... A new - slightly over the - average pop group appeared. Good luck, guys!
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