sigur ros

in case you were wondering, the new sigur ros album is fucking amazing.

it's called Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust which translates to "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly".

i've been a long time fan of sigur ros, having first heard them back during my days working for their record label. when i first heard the band, i was amazed. i have been a fan ever since. back in 2003, when i was working at the label, i got a chance to see them at this really amazing show in DC in this old theatre on U St. now, at the time, i was listening to sigur ros exclusively as i fell asleep every night. it was the perfect music for it. the night before, i had stayed out really late with some girl i was crazy about at the time.. we're talking 4:00am. i had to get up to be at work at 7:00. it's crazy how we used to torture ourselves like that in the name of romance. at 28, i think getting that little sleep would probably kill me. anyway, the concert was early.. i had to leave straight from work. i didn't have anyone to go with me, so i arrived at the concert alone and found a seat near the middle of the room. the concert is amazing. the band's music sounded so great in this room, and the light show was really tasteful and complimented the music really well.

if you can see where this is headed, you won't be surprised when i tell you that about an hour into the show, i fell asleep in my seat. completely fucking asleep. i woke up at some point during the encore and was beating myself up about it for weeks.

anyway, i kinda let sigur ros fall off my radar for a little while, until i heard about heima. heima was this amazing documentary film that they shot of this tour that sigur ros did in their home country of iceland. it's one of my favorite music documentaries i've ever seen and pretty much is solely responsible for motivating me to travel to iceland next year. the shots of the countryside there are so beautiful and i can't wait to see it in person. the music itself is just as amazing. they re-worked a lot of their songs to be played acoustically and tried new things live and it translated really really well.

so anyway, with this new record, sigur ros kept going in the experimental footsteps they took with heima. old sigur ros was big and echo-y in their beauty.. this new sigur ros is really small and intimate. they trade in reverby guitars for acoustic ones. it's a really nice change. there's still that trademark sound in there for people who want it, but i'm all for the newer more intimate stuff. i've got my heart set on seeing them play it live sometime soon, but they never quite bring the tour close enough to virginia.

i guess i'll have to see them in iceland then! right? RIGHT!