KVEIKUR

Sigur Ros is a band that needs no introduction, they are at the forefront of the post-rock music scene and have made sounds within that genre that no other band has managed to imitate. Kveikur is the second album following their small hiatus two years ago and the follow-up to one of my favorite albums of 2012 Valtari.

Speaking of Valtari, a wispy ambient-tinged post-rock masterwork, Kveikur is that album's about face. When I first heard the opening track Brennisteinn on youtube, I was quite stunned. There was a noisy, rusty, powerful booming track of post-rock with vocals from Jonsi that are almost at times demonic. The raw energy just emanated from it so beautifully. If every track sounded like Brennisteinn, Sigur Ros would have a masterpiece that sounds like nothing they have ever done before.

But that is not the case, it definitely sounds like nothing they've ever done before, the heavier more doom-invoking sound emanates through the rest of the album but none of the other tracks stun me quite as much as the opener. I still like them, however, the title track in particular is a lovely song. Every song is perhaps a bit more toned done, but that's not to say they are generic Sigur Ros, they are experiments in their own right and most if not all of them go the right direction.

Excellent and significantly different follow-up to Valtari, just not quite as fantastic.