The danger with having created a sound as exquisitely distinctive and TV-ubiquitous as Sigur Rós's is that it starts to sound like its own parody. Their expansive soundscapes and Jónsi Birgisson's cooed and chirruped "Hopelandic" (his phonetically-Icelandic if nonsensical vocals) have become a sonic shorthand for "atmosphere", which is perhaps why Sigur Rós chose such an un-Sigur Rós name for their sixth studio album. "Valtari" means "steamroller", but no one's in danger of getting flattened by anything approaching Wagnerian blasts. These slow-building, shivery washes of sound are what the band do best, proving worthy of far more listening time than those incidental moments soundtracking nature programmes.
Contributor
Hermione Hoby
Hermione writes for the Observer New Review section on books, music, theatre and feminism.
Hermione Hoby
The GuardianTramp
