First Post?

So Sigur Ros. The instruments sound the right way, they're unconventional and jangle like they're supposed to, but it doesn't really have the same appeal to me anymore. I don't know if that's because I've grown out of post-rock or because it just isn't as good as it used to be.

This isn't a post where I have the answers.

So yeah, Sigur Ros. They have a new album Kveikur coming out tomorrow. It's alright I guess. It isn't Takk... which is not actually a crime, but hard to get around none the less.

When I heard Takk... for the first time, I didn't really know Sigur Ros at all, I had heard a song of theirs in the Vanilla Sky soundtrack and that was the scope of my familiarity. It was very much an impulse listen. Nobody had suggested it to me, I hadn't read a review. I just saw their name in text on a website and clicked download.

That album opens with the title track like a blooming flower and then assaults you with moody splendor, depth, and beauty for it's running time. My musical sensibilities were in flux and it was... just the right album at the right time.

Again I don't know if it's the music or if it's me. I know that 8 years is a long time to be listening to the same music. But 8 years is also a long time to love the same album. That's significant, right? I just don't feel the newer material like I felt "Glosoli". That track builds from tender intimacy with this... this immediacy, this sense of significance until it chugs on into a crescendo that demands you feel... well, everything at the same time. Joy, pain, hope, sadness, it's an intense song.




It isn't lost on me that I mentioned a new album and dismissed it almost immediately. It's not fair, nor is it fair to judge it for what it isn't. The main point is, while the new album is pleasant, it just doesn't demand my attention like Takk... does (halfway through this post I put on Takk... instead). It's not all bad though right? Having to live up to an album like Takk... is a good problem to have right?

So this is a weird first post. Not a review for a new album. Kind of a review for an 8 year old album. And kind of a post about how unfair time is. I could probably do worse.

Update: It's good, it's just different.

In fact it's great. My own prejudices kept the hooks on this album out of my reach, they're there, just different. These songs have a faster tempo, they're a little dancier. The breakdowns and dramatic builds from Takk... are muted, subtle, or gone altogether. In retrospect, by changing, they've ditched tropes from post-rock that have staled. And maybe that's the lesson--Just because they did it well doesn't mean they should do it forever. In an alternate reality would I be complaining about their failure to change? Hopefully this blog doesn't become a series of updates about things I've changed my mind about.

I've included a spotify link for the lazy, I recommend "Stormur". Listen to it here.