SIGUR RÓS

Valtari

[XL]

Sigur Rós’ indefinite hiatus certainly didn’t last long. A mere two years after the Icelandic quartet publicly questioned its own future (and frontman Jónsi released a solo album), they have returned with a sixth studio album. Clocking in just shy of an hour, Valtari is in many ways a more subdued affair than previous efforts. Tones are soft, and anything remotely raw is muted into a subtle buzzing in the background. Most of the tracks are instrumental, and when vocals are featured they often take on a haunting, choral form—not necessarily human in tone, in much the same way that the synths here lack a purely electronic sound. Sigur Rós extends its mystic sensibilities to the humblest of arrangements. “Var_eldur” and “Fjögur píanó,” for example, are dominated by lovely, sparse piano that forsakes ambience to root them in firmer ground of organic instrumentation. It isn’t vastly new territory, but a little time off seems to have allowed the band a slight change in direction.  –Amanda Farah

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