Sigur Ros - Valtari

There are bands and albums we love and there are songs that hold special meaning in our lives but I believe that there are only a few albums that truly have an impact on us. Albums that shapes who we are or change how we view music. Albums that speak to our lives at the right time and become records we can't live without.

Sigur Ros' ( ) is one of those albums in my life. I remember hearing that record for first time. I don't know what makes a record stick with us that it impacts us each and every listen but there is something very moving and spiritual about ( ). The way the album moves and builds to a crescendo is beautiful and complicated and interesting. It's a great soundtrack.

The band followed ( ) with the incredible Takk. Takk had more flare and movement within the songs. It was like listening to a great marching band play beautiful music. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus was the follow up to Takk and honestly was a little disappointing. The record had great songs and beautiful instrumentation but there was something missing. The songs didn't move and the emotional connection that the band's previous two records had was void on Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus. 


Valtari isn't a grand record. And I mean, it's not grand in terms of scope or sound. Sigur Ros scaled back their sound and it works in in the favor. While the rich instrumentation is gone, the band recaptured the lushness and subtle beauty that the opening tracks on ( ) had. The builds and crescendos never reach a full breaking point but flow and peak perfectly. Where ( ) crescendoed into utter chaos and madness for 70 minutes, Valtari takes each song as it's own.


The real focal point of Valtari seems to be Jonsi's vocals. And they should be. I think where Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus really missed the mark was having Jonsi's vocals as vocals. Sigur Ros desires a lot of credit for doing something new and fresh and taking a chance and actually writing songs on Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus. And the band did it well. But what really made Sigur Ros a compelling band was the nature that Jonsi's vocals were just another instrument and layer to the songs and Valtari gets back to that. 


Valtari is scaled back instrumentation but it's still rich and lush in sound. Sigur Ros has simplified themselves and it works to the bands benefit. Valtari is a beautiful record that hits on a lot of the same musical themes that the first couple of tracks on ( ) did. Ambient, slow moving, beautiful. A great record from Sigur Ros.