Jonsi Birgisson & Alex Somers Riceboy Sleeps (EMI)
3/5
By: Charlie Hearn
Riceboy Sleeps is a side project of the Icelandic post-rock outfit Sigur Rós, consisting of Jonsi Birgisson and Alex Somers. The project attempts to provide a more stripped back version of the ethereal sound that has arguably been lost in some of Sigur Rós’ more recent material. The commercial successes of last album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaustat have pointed the group towards a more calculated approach, with lead single ‘Gobbledigook’ even receiving some day time Radio One plays. It is if you will, post-rock without the rock, which will have many of you wondering what does that leave? And that’s a very good question to ask because the answer is not much, especially in terms of structure and direction. The album floats along without purpose and leaves little impression upon the first listen. It’s only with more time that the subtleties begin to emerge from the amalgamation of sound that you can begin to start appreciating the finer points of each track.
However, as a stand alone piece of work it’s still difficult to get any real joy out of ‘Riceboy Sleeps’. The project was originally set to a series of videos and is designed to be accompanied by a book of art work, also created by the duo. Without the special edition box set; it’s a bit like listening to the soundtrack of a film that you’ve never seen. And upon witnessing some of the accompanying visual material there is still an overwhelming feeling that the real beauty of what this project holds is locked away and will only be truly experienced by its creators. If you can get over this niggling fact and accept that this album is never going to reveal all of its secrets, it becomes a more pleasant experience. But you have to remember that this is an experimental band experimenting and it’s no wonder that the resulting material is strange, mysterious and ultimately inaccessible. As a piece of art it is an intriguing concept but as an album this intrigue is often tarred by the dull ache of frustration, losing the listener in its self imposed left-field ambiguity.
Artists in this article: Sigur Ros, Jonsi Birgisson & Alex Somers
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