() - Sigur Ros

A lot of you may have heard of Sigur Ros more recently, due to the BBC's obsession with including their music in almost every link VT. I was lucky enough to be introduced to the Icelandic band by a friend several years ago. The music created by this group is like nothing else you will have heard before - it includes electric guitars played with a cello bow and the recording is apparently done in an old derelict swimming pool to get the required atmosphere for the recording. The music is absolutely sublime and almost ethereal. Of all of their albums, () is by far my favourite. None of the tracks are titled and nor is the album itself, hence the (). I know ...  Read the complete review

What an intriguing, engrossing, delightful set of songs. As Sigur Ros slip more and more in to the musical mainstream, it often pays to look at the back catalogue to see the true roots of a band. With Sigur Ros, this is less a good idea and more a necessity. Whatever you want to call it (The Brackets album, The Untitled Album, or simply '( )'), this album is utterly sublime. I've often listened to this thinking that no words could describe the music and subsequent moods and emotions it generates, which is not so good when reviewing the album! But I'll give it a go. '( )', as I shall refer to it from now on, is more an experience than just a set of ...  Read the complete review

Wow! As with all the Sigur Ros albums, this is AMAZING - absolutely beautiful! The CD consists of 8 tracks, label Sigur 1 - Sigur 8 respectively. EVERY song on this album is amazing and I just can't get enough of this band. Sigur Ros are a 4 piece from Iceland and sing in their own language called 'Vonlenska' or 'Hopelandic' to the English (which is a cross between English, Icelandic and Gibberish) and it is truly beautiful - even though you can't understand what they're saying, listening to them is one of the most amazing experiences ever. If you do go on to buy this CD, I suggest you drive out to the hills somewhere with your boy/girl friend, look ...  Read the complete review

Not so much an album, but a concept. ( ) implying nothing, the songs which are all untitled, also implying nothing, and the sole lyrical use being vonlenska, excludes everybody, in the same sense including everybody. Vonlenska (or Hopelandic in English) is a language that has been created by Sigur Ros, enabling the listener to dream up their own ideas of the song, and for it to have its own meaning. A masterpiece of lyrical and musical genius, however without that edge. This edge that is in later albums, just seems to be lost here. A more somber take on things, still with that sigur ros magic, but without those hidden depths. I believe the band were still finding ...  Read the complete review