SIGUR ROS

The first track is Brennisteinn (Brimstone), which shows Sigur Ros taking a completely new musical direction. The track is darker than most of their material and even crosses over into industrial territory. It's an excellent track.

The second track, Hryggjarsula, is a well-done ambient piece which builds on the heavy themes of Brennisteinn.

The third track, Ofbirta, is a totally unmemorable ambient piece that doesn't seem to accomplish anything. In fact, it sounds very similar to the other low-key ambient pieces that Sigur Ros puts on these EPs

Overall, this EP is quite unnecessary except as a preview for Kveikur. Because Brennisteinn appears on Kveikur, its inclusion here offers little reason to get this EP. The third track might as well not be on here, in my opinion, and the second track is good but nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, only a die-hard Sigur Ros fan will want this.

Rating: 3/10

The music on "Valtari" is slow paced, melancholic, mellow and incredibly beautiful. There's something soul searching and deeply moving about Sigur R's music, that you very rarely find in music of any sort or style. That goes for most of their output and certainly applies to "Valtari". Layers upon layers of atmospheric sounds and instruments that form the instrumental basis of the tracks and on top of it the high pitched and fervent vocals by J'nsi Birgission. It's the kind of music you get lost in. The kind of music you listen to with dreamy glassy eyes while you reflect on your life's ups and downs.

The album is well produced featuring a warm organic sound production. All in all "Valtari" is just a really great album. If I have to mention one slight issue it would be the lack of variation. Besides the closing dramatic and loud minutes of "Var''", and "Rembihn'tur" which features some rythm/percussion, most tracks sound very much alike. It's not a major issue, but a bit more variation between and in tracks would probably have made "Valtari" a even more memorable album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Each song sounds similar too making this review almost seem redundant. "Eg Anda" is quiet and spacy to start and it starts to build some around 2 1/2 minutes. Vocals a minute later. Slow pulsating sounds end it. "Ekki Mukk" is again quiet to start as reserved vocals join in. It's louder after 2 1/2 minutes but the sound will continue to fluctuate. "Varuo" is laid back but not very melodic. Vocals are the focus 1 1/2 minutes in. Piano and background sounds help out each time it settles.

"Rombihnutur" opens with humming sounds as sparse piano joins in. Vocals after 2 1/2 minutes. "Davoalogn" is again soft and quiet to start and the vocals come in around a minute. It builds some then settles back. This contrast continues. It blends into "Varoeldur" where slowly pulsating sounds with piano lead the way. Vocal melodies after 3 1/2 minutes. A very repetitive song but it works. This is the only song that I like. "Valtari" is spacey and if there was a so called beautiful passage this is it. "Fjogur Piano" is really laid back with slowly played piano helping out early.

I just can't recommend this album.

But, this Valtari opus is too anemic, flaccid, and in places downright lethargic. Yes, there are some pleasant instrumental sounds. Yes, I Sigur R�s guys are talented musicians. We will take a pass on Valtari, but we are willing to wait for their next album, and I hope it would be at least as good as Takk and Med Sud .

In retrospect their previous, more accessible 2008 album "Me� Su� � Eyrum Vi� Spilum Endalaust" was a not unpleasant detour, showing a warmer side to the normally arctic dirge rock formula all but patented by the band on earlier efforts. The new album charts a more familiar course, but it's less a return to form than a total retreat to some sort of electronic pre-natal womb, reducing the classic sound of Sigur R�s to its barest and most basic essentials.

Expect a surplus of atmospheric textures, some lush amniotic string arrangements, and of course that otherworldly falsetto voice crooning in a language almost but not quite Icelandic. The entire album is lovely beyond words, but not a single minute of it will surprise anyone schooled in post-Eno soundscape design. J�ns� himself already staked out very similar territory in his own 2009 album "Riceboy Sleeps", and this effort likewise resembles a glorified solo project.

A hint of the band's dark energy can still be heard in the slow, pounding crescendo of "Var��", and to a lesser degree in "Rembihn�tur": the only songs with anything approaching an actual rhythm. But even here the circumspect drumming sounds like it was synthetically generated, and elsewhere on the album the energy is dialed back to austerity levels, hardly unplugged but with a couple of fuses deliberately missing.

Maybe that's the point. The entire project might have been an unintended but intuitive portrait of Iceland after its '08 economic collapse, marking the first, hesitant awareness of a band emerging from long hibernation into a new and unfamiliar world. You would sound a little over-cautious yourself, in their shoes.

Having dipped my toes in the world of post-rock on numerous occasions with a feeling of nothing more than mild and polite admiration of both the musicianship and general ideas behind it, it is really rather nice that the first experience is the only one I keep coming back to. Sigur Ros and more specifically �gaetis Byrjun: an album of meticulous, yet unkempt beauty that lifts you up and takes you away on a lovely journey for as long as you allow yourself to be spellbound by it.

Being rather eclectic if you delve a bit deeper into the songs, it is first and and foremost a supreme tour-de-force in building and cherishing atmosphere, regardless of the methods used to get there. Despite a lot of detail and at times rather busy arrangements, what stays with me is a sense of space and a lot of room to breathe. A cool and breezy morning by the sea. The air still fresh from the rain during the night, with glimpses of light appearing here and there under the sullen, departing clouds. One reviewer described it as Nordic. Being Nordic myself, I can somewhat relate to that, however unspecific it may be, even though I would describe the feel of the album as something more universal.

Slow-to-glacial, cottony rhythmic foundation serves as the bedrock upon which soothing, gently swirling layers of ambient, moody keys and guitar make up much of the main structures, quietly painting a shifting soundscape of pale, refreshing colours. These are in turn lovingly adorned by crisp, clear and often a bit sparse (almost percussive) melodic details from a distant guitar lick and the odd, high-pitched piano/e-piano notes. Undercurrents of bass, warm horns (or is it woodwind?) and other goodies quietly pass by beneath. And out of the blue a sudden or gradual build-up of forceful, noisy and ringing guitar shoots out of the layered soundscape like a mountaintop. Awe-inspiring.

Sometimes it turns into a busier, more orchestral affair, again with strings, horns and piano sticking out as more defining features, in often (tastefully) bombastic and uplifting crescendos, where the sounds of the instruments seems to rise upwards - blending the cheerfully melancholic with the painful smile - in a sort of dancing motion that I find damn near irresistible.

Then there is the more familiar rock structures that, while slowed-down and very atmospheric, brings up the drums and bass from the back of the mix adding points of anchorage and a bit of meat to the often floating, fluffy structures on ��gaetis Byrjun. There are a few instances where things even get a bit jazzy, rhythmically speaking. The wall-of-sound-using-especially-guitar-trick that seems to be a defining part of the sub-genre make some appearances now and then, but it is never allowed to dominate, but rather accentuates and act as a form of dynamic catalyst. To great effect, I might add.

Like a smoke or a mist over this invigorating mix floats vocalist J�nsi's mellow, otherworldly and very expressive vocals, further enhanced by a touch of effects. In spite of (or perhaps because of) never reaching for proper emotional extremes in his delivery, they blend exquisitely with the music and feel all the more meaningful and integrated with the album as a whole.

What still strikes me as the biggest feat here is how the album comes together as a harmonious whole. So rich and crafted and yet so free in form and structure, so naturally evolving... It is a very uplifting experience. Happy or cheerful are not the right words, as it is a bit too reflective and cerebral for those two. It has more to do with a strange sense of spiritual peace and purpose the album is simply overflowing with. A quiet, cleansing everyday joy that bubbles just beneath the surface.

Rooted in something familiar and earthbound, expressed through sounds that fly a lot higher.

4 stars.

//LinusW

This album was always at the top of my lists of a must hear Sigur Ros due to the high regard among proggers and in particular the write up in a well known music magazine. I was also drawn in by the beautiful cover art of an angelic embryo floating in a neon glow. The iconic emblematic art signifies the floating music that Sigur Ros emanate. As the album begins one is immediately transported to the Icelandic chill of the frozen tundras. The incomprehensible language adds to the mystique. The music sounds cold and distant but somehow comforting. The album title "�g�tis Byrjun" means "A good beginning", which is apt as it was the beginning of greatness for the band that went on to become major successes worldwide.

It begins with an Intro of backwards strings and synths. Then is followed by 'Svefn-G-Englar', one of the more serene tracks; virtually a one note piece with very high register spaced out vocals, along streams of violins and patient measured percussion. The dreamy synths are meandering slowly and everything slows inexorably from this track on.

The highlight of the album that resonated with me from first listen is 'Staralfur' with gorgeous chimes, violins, and tearful vocals. The melancholy that is built with stirring violins and organic atmospherics is stunning. This is highly original music designed to touch the emptions at the deepest level. It ends with cold static leading to the next song.

'Flugufrelsarinn' is a haunting soundscape adorned with ominous strings and keys. The vocals are more middle register and no less wracked in emotional longing. 'Ny Batteri' has an Oriental feel, and features slow paced horns, a relaxed feel on keyboards, with some intense moments on loud drums, that are released into pleasant calm and almost silence. The vocals are ultra high falsetto and sung in a laid back but beautiful melody.

'Hjartao Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)' utilises harmonica with piano embellishments and then the trademark vocals chime in. There is a degree of experimental work to generate unusual rather creepy atmospheres. 'Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa' begins as a distant zone of feedback loops and spacey atmospheres. The infinitely patient piano is heavenly and is joined by symphonic strings and some psychedelic vocals. It builds to a crescendo of interlacing violins and improvised melodies that overlap and become chaotic along with sporadic drumming.

'Olsen Olsen' begins with distant spacey vibes on vocals and some percussion, with a repeated guitar phrase and ambience at the low end flows along. The majestic ending with multitracked choirs and uplifting melodies is very unusual in comparison to the ambience previously.

'Agaetis Byrjun' has a powerful scape of uplifting beauty with piano augmentations and some scraping sounds with a moderate percussion. The chimes add to the dreaminess, and then high falsetto vocals mixed to the front glaze over the freezing landscape. 'Avalon' is a trip into space with keyboards and winding ribbons of cello sounds. The exploration of ambient textures is striking and it builds until some experimental twangs are heard to end the journey.

This is certainly one of the best Sigur Ros albums and may take some out of their comfort zone such is the starkness of the extreme ambient music. It takes a degree of patience to endure the full 70 minute journey but makes nice dreamy relaxing music at the end of a busy day to kick back to. It is a full immersive atmospheric journey that has the power to relax the senses. The band built up a very solid fanbase from this album to present day.

Most of the Sigur Ros output is just loosely arranged .... er ... collection of sounds. Not necessarily unpleasant, but not too stimulating either. Too many of their songs sound as if a guy was pushing random keys on his synthesizer with his left hand, with a brick sitting on the sustain pedal, while petting a cat (or Facebookin on a smart phone ... or doing a sudoku puzzle ) with his right hand.

Bottom line: it's not really rock.

Neither can you really call it "progressive". The word "progressive" points at innovation, momentum, breaking the mold, search for new horizons, evolution and growth. The only growth Sigur Ros promotes in me is that of the mold and lichen behind my ears.

Ambiance has always been a strong part of Sigur Ros' music, that's one of the main forces behind their music, such atmospheric and emotionally drenched piano and guitar playing matched with the ambiance Jonsi's vocals naturally provide. But with Valtari, every square inch of the album is ambiance and it benefits so much from it. There are still the pieces that wind up and crash down but now there's a much more ambient base to them. One reviewer on another site suggest you listen to "Ekki Mukk" while watching an avalanche in slow-motion and that was spot on. That track and the others have that epicness to them which has made Sigur Ros such a great band from an emotional standpoint but now the ambiance gives them an altogether personal touch which they had flirted at but never achieved.

A return to form, and much more, Sigur Ros is back with Valtari and album which may prove better than even Agaetis Byrjun with repeated listens.

The concert(s) in this twin-CD package date from late 2008, when the band was touring in support of the above-named album. But unlike that atypically upbeat effort the sound here is classic Sigur R�s, and likely to strike a sympathetic chord in listeners claiming even a passing familiarity with Post Rock protocol: typically built around loud/soft contrasts and long, escalating crescendos. The stage arrangements don't stray too far from the studio originals, but the live sound is vivid, giving each song even more grandiose power than on the albums themselves.

The effect, as always, is oddly exhilarating. Especially when the alien falsetto of vocalist J�ns� Birgisson (I would hesitate to brand him as a mere singer) is matched against the wall-shaking signature sound of his bowed electric guitar. No wonder the musicians like to describe themselves as "a very serious Heavy Metal band": it's an apt description of their loud yet introspective aesthetic.

But the DVD is the main attraction here. This has to be one of the more striking concert films ever produced, succeeding in part because it isn't a traditional concert film at all. The aim instead was to present a more abstract interpretation of the Sigur R�s soundworld, shot on grainy high-contrast black and white film stock (or its digital HD equivalent, most likely) and artificially enhanced with epileptic editing and a panoply of visual treatments.

The evocative faux-antique style nicely captures the moody, sub-arctic angst of the music itself. And to closet cineastes it might also recall the silent film expressionism of Murnau or Lang...or at least Guy Maddin, the Winnipeg auteur who gave us "The Saddest Music in the World" and "Tales From the Gimli Hospital". Interlaced with the concert is an assortment of backstage footage and brief interview segments (including an NPR appearance in which the band looks somewhat bemused and bewildered), plus a handful of bonus performances minus all the heavy-duty image distress.

"Inni" probably needs to be seen on a large screen, with high fidelity sound. But the film worked fine on my little old TV console, impressing me as one of the few visual documents of a live music experience worth watching more than once. And while the music itself doesn't break new ground, it's a timely and welcome restatement of first principles for a band just now emerging from long hibernation.