Product Description

Untitled third album from Icelandic space rockers, their follow-up to 1999's acclaimed 'Agaetis Byrjun', which won the US equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize. Eschews the epic string and keyboard-drenched sound of that album for a rawer,more "live" feel, whilst being, if anything, even more stately and majestic.

Track Listing

1. Untitled I
2. Untitled II
3. Untitled III
4. Untitled IV
5. Untitled V
6. Untitled VI
7. Untitled VII
8. Untitled VIII

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1307 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-28
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anyone expecting Sigur Ros to have abandoned their emotional and majestic approach will think again after hearing the opening bars of their new album, ( ). When Sigur Ros released their second long player Agaetis Byrjun back in 1999, they caught everyone on the hop. Though it was pretty much the first anyone outside of their native Iceland had heard of them, the quartet had been studiously honing their sound for the last five years, developing a spellbinding mix of rock guitars scraped with violin bows, angelic falsetto vocals and dramatic builds of percussion fuelled tension that offered all the ineffable quietude of religious music.

( ) is a slightly rawer, undoubtedly heavier experience than its predecessor, but it still manages to shine a torch into the darkest corner of our souls, describing accurately the aching beauty and the hopeless anguish that makes up the contradictory essence of human existence. Experimental flourishes hark back to their eldritch debut album Von, and Jonsi's vocals-–which have devolved over two albums from Icelandic to his own "Hopelandic" half-language–-finally melt into lyric-less harmonic textures that still float across the band's earthy tapestries as naturally as clouds cross the night sky. Rest assured though that any changes are slight; the melancholy brilliance that made Agaetis Bryjun such a life-changing event is still very much the driving force behind Sigur Ros's music, making this new album every bit as essential as the last. --Paul Sullivan

Customer Reviews

Like a beautiful trance
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, and 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 and 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 and Takk. Due to this, the album comes across (at least to this listener) as the purest, most emotional, most revealing album by Sigur Ros, and possibly of any band I have heard.

This is a quite exceptional album.

the sound of snowblind angels flying into the sun...
to appreciate this album, you must listen to it from start to finish, it is utterly sublime.

( ... )
First of all, don't be scared that it will be depressing. It's dark, emotional and 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 bed in the middle of the night when no one else can hear you. Or maybe on a plane. Or sitting up a tree in 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), and maybe I will one day, but at the moment I'd rather just do so in my head. Everyone on Earth should listen to this album at least once, and then they might just relax even for an hour and 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?