Sigur Rós

The latest album from Icelandic wunderkinds Sigur Rós is a bit of a tease. The band's newest release, Hvarf/Heim, isn't really new material: it's half live album, half unreleased recordings. The Hvarf EP is made up of songs that got lost on the cutting room floor over the years, while the Heim EP is a collection of live recordings.

Since Hvarf gathers tracks left off of previously released Sigur Rós albums, the EP serves as a brief history of where the band has been over the years. The opening track, "Salka," is pure Sigur Rós with its high-pitched whale calls and melancholy orchestrations. "Hljómalind" starts off gentle and unassuming, only to explode into a grandiose rock song. "Í Gaer" mines similar territory, expanding auditory horizons with Pink Floyd flair in between opening and closing choruses of haunting xylophones. "Von," one of the band's earliest tracks, plays like modern-day Vivaldi, the orchestral strings and percussion radiating a sad, lingering beauty. "Hafsól" is the perfect way to end Hvarf. Clocking in at almost 10 minutes, the futuristic opus builds a harmonious cacophony that culminates in a sweet whistling that sounds like the calm after a storm.

Hvarf's complement, Heim, is a collection of live recorded material that shows the band's prowess is not restricted to the confines of a recording studio. (Its release is accompanied by that of a DVD, Heima, of hi-def live footage.) Heim starts off with the simplistic, yet moving, piano piece "Samskeyti," which is followed by long-time favorite "Starálfur," the sweet ballad found on Ágætis Byrjun. "Vaka" is one of Heim's stars, a spare and elegant piece where the organic strings, vocals and xylophone take the spotlight. The almost pop-like "Ágætis Byrjun" is another rare gem, as Sigur Rós rarely perform it live. The only track that makes both EPs is "Von," which is just as powerful on the stage as it is in the studio, a theme that resonates loud and clear on this pair of discs.

—Elisa Jacobs
11.06.07

After floating in the same cirrus clouds for a decade, it would seem that the time has come for a change. Not to say that the lulling orchestral swells or Jon Birgisson's schoolboy falsetto have lost any of their magic over time; it's just that after releasing 40-some similar-sounding songs with undecipherable lyrics, it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate one from the next. However, Hvarf/Heim isn't the album to mark a musical departure for Sigur Rós. The bandmembers show no real sign of abandoning their style, so it seems understandable that they would want to show fans another side of themselves. Disc one, Hvarf, is a five-track collection of rarities from their vaults. The handful of tracks doesn't quite make for a fulfilling full-length, but with two of the songs almost hitting the ten-minute mark, the disc's entirety feels much longer than a mere EP. Consistently sprawling and lunar, the songs would feel right at home on Takk... or ( ). The standout track, "Hljómalind," is one of the more concise and traditional songs crafted over their journey, with the traditional instrumentation of reversed chimes and bowed guitar delays sawing textures into the fabric of the song, just before giving way to a powerful rock chorus from the mouth of a gently meowing alien. The traditional slow build is ignored for dynamics, and an unusually tangible hook hits like an old-fashioned punch to the face. The second disc, Heim, is comprised of six acoustically performed versions of favorites from their back catalog. Surprisingly, these songs don't sound remarkably different from the originals. Even without an electric guitar droning, they aren't sparse or minimal in the least, due to an additional string quartet, Amiina, filling in the gaps to create a lush soundscape. The reworkings are subtle, but the versions of "Samskeyti" and "Starálfur" remain beautiful and are slightly warmer and even more fragile than the originals. Completists will find this double-disc supplement of material appealing, and new fans wanting to get a quick feel for the band will probably enjoy it too, but the true excitement revolving around this promises to be in the accompanying release of the Heima DVD, a documentary -- with gorgeous cinematography -- that follows Sigur Rós' 2006 tour of their homeland and features music from these discs, which is perfectly fitting for a slow-motion shot of an iceberg melting in a spring sunrise. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide