Sigur Ros Buzzing About New Album
By: Chris Helsen
Details of the forthcoming fifth record from Icelandic enigmas Sigur Ros' have emerged and they're every bit the mouthful you would expect. The album will be entitled Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, which, if for some reason you don't happen to know Icelandic, translates as 'With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly'. Tinnitus can be a risk for musicians.
Still, it is shaping up to be an interesting return, with the post-rock pioneers apparently taking a more relaxed live approach to recording and utilising the talents of vocalist Jón "Jónsi" Thor Birgisson for the first time. However, with strings and brass a plenty and even a Mellotron, Meo... seems likely to retain Sigur Ros' trademark soaring grandeur.
Songs are reported to range from a single voice and acoustic guitar to a one-take recording ('Ára bátur' or 'Row boat') featuring 90 different singers and musicians. If you want to take a peek at how the new material is shaping up, the first single to be taken from the album, 'Gobbledigook' - not at all a reference to the album title - is available for free download right now.
The full tracklisting for the album, released on 23rd June but available to stream from http://sigurros.com from 9th June, is as follows:
1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
3. Góðan daginn
4. Við spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Með suð í eyrum
7. Ára bátur
8. Illgresi
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All alright
The band is also set to play a whole load of festival and other dates this summer:
June:
5 Guadalajara, Mexico - Teatro Degollado
7 Tepoztlan, Mexico - Festival La Colmena
8 Tijuana, Mexico - Multiculti
11 Omaha, USA - Orpheum Theatre
12 Kansas City, USA - Uptown Theatre
14 Manchester, USA - Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
16 New York, USA - Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Centre
20 Germany - Southside Festival
22 Bremen, Germany - Hurricane Festival
July:
5 Wechter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
6 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
8 Vienna, Austria - Arena
9 Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
11 Florence, Italy - Giardino Di Boboli
12 Rome, Italy - Cavea Auditorium
13 Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
14 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkhaus
17 Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim Festival
19 Suffolk, England - Latitude Festival
August:
1 Melbourne, Australia - Festival Hall
2 Sydney, Australia - Horden Pavillion
3 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour In The Grass
7 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
8 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West
9 Copenhagen, Denmark - Beat Day Festival
11 Cologne, Germany - Philharmonie
12 Wiesenbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
13 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrum
15 St. Malo, France - La Route Du Rock Festival
17 Biddinghuizen, Holland - Lowlands Festival
18 Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof
19 Prague, Czech Republic - Arena HC Sparta Praha
20 Warsaw, Poland - Palladium
22 Riga, Latvia - Arena
24 Helsinki, Finland - Kulttuuritalo
26 St Petersburg, Russia - TYUZ Theatre
27 Moscow, Russia - B1
29 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic Festival
31 Inveraray, Scotland - Hydro Connect Festival