SANTA MONICA, CA. (Geffen Records) - On August 16th, 'Saeglopur' will be the first single to be made available in the US as a digital download from Sigur Ros's forthcoming fourth album 'Takk...', to be released on
September 13th. The single has a genuine oh-my-God!-ness about it, guaranteed to floor even the most seasoned
Sigur Ros watcher. And to think it all begins so delicate and butter-wouldn't-melt...
In fact, 'Saeglopur' starts a little like the delightful offspring of the much-loved first track off the last untitled album (the live favourite known to the cognescenti as 'Vaka') and the Icelandic quartet's more recent 'Baba Tiki Dido', their ambient-ish score for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
A piano picks out a pretty riff, a glockenspiel plays an almost-not-there top-line and Jonsi's airy vocal gently levitates above all. But then, just as you're settled back soaking up the loveliness, the band launch an exocet missile into the middle of proceedings and, out of a clear blue sky, an intense bombardment begins.
Jonsi's bowed guitar finds the power to instill the fear of God, while the bass and drums thunder alarmingly round your head and the piano takes on demonic overtones. Then suddenly, there is a melodic gap in the clouds and a chorus bursts forth only to be subsumed once more in the sturm und drang of this most powerful piece of music. Around the five-minute mark, however, the storm subsides for good, and open vistas of vast orchestral plains open up over the songs last couple of minutes, suffused all about with an eerie heavenly glow.
The first time you hear this, it is a real-life hair-raising experience; your blood seems to run a little quicker and your skin goes properly prickly. There may be a tendency to feel somewhat lost for words for a few moments afterwards. In this regard, 'Saeglopur' may well be the purest distillation to date of the chemistry Sigur Ros have at their collective fingertips.
It is well documented that the group are eminently capable of spellbinding melodic delicacy and also bewildering towers of rock power, but never before have they been so effectively brought together in a way that leaves the listener quite so emotionally undone. 'Saelopur' -- as simple as its guitar, bass, drums and keys ingredients are -- feels like a record of near divine inspiration.
An immense song from the band's most rewarding and accomplished album to date, 'Saelopur' is harder than heavy metal and more beautiful than the most mellifluous modern classical; it is the record to make everyone believe Sigur Ros really are as special as we'd all hoped they might turn out to be.
See Sigur Ros tour dates below:
9/12/2005 New York, NY Beacon Theater
9/13/2005 New York, NY Beacon Theater
9/15/2005 Boston, MA Opera House
9/16/2005 Montreal, PQ Place des Arts
9/18/2005 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre
9/19/2005 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
9/20/2005 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater
9/21/2005 Chicago, IL Chicago Theater
9/23/2005 Madison, WI Orpheum Theater
9/24/2005 Minneapolis, MN State Theater
9/27/2005 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theater
9/28/2005 Seattle, WA Paramount Theater
9/29/2005 Portland, OR Roseland Theatre
10/1/2005 Oakland, CA Paramount Theater
10/3/2005 San Diego, CA Copley Symphony Hall
10/5/2005 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
10/6/2005 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
