Sigur Rós - Ekki Múkk

“I can honestly say that it’s the only Sigur Rós record I have listened to for pleasure in my own house after we’ve finished it.” If the floating ship video, the flurry of strings on ‘Ekki múkk’, isn’t enough to leave you heated in anticipation for the next Sigur Rós album, the above statement from Georg Hólm has to do the trick. Think of all the breathtaking, hypnotic, epic albums the band have to their name and consider that this is the first album the band state their pride for. Think of all the sleep-inducing listens you’ve had to ‘( )’, the phenomenal array of instrumentation on ‘Ágætis byrjun’, the uplifting, breakout sounds of ‘Takk…’ And this could top it all.

Forget for a second about the clips of cuddling Polar bears that Sigur Rós are so famed for soundtracking; cast aside the niggling disappointment of previous album ‘Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust’ and just take yourself back to the very first time you listened to the otherworldly, hypnotic cries of Jónsi and his companions. There is something quite magical, utterly magnificent about ‘Ekki múkk’ in that it carries you back to that first listen; the start of this glorious relationship. It isn’t showy or pandering to a desire for monumental crescendos; rather, it builds into a glistening, wholesome shape, where string and piano sections lift the alien vocals into a warm, comforting single piece. It is the most genuine Sigur Rós have sounded since they found world fame through ‘Hoppípolla’. The last album was nervous, aware of its requirements, of which it fell some way short of. Georg Hólm is again candid in stating that the band “almost gave up” with this latest record, until something clicked.

This time round the group have seemingly stripped themselves of pressures, journeyed back to the pre-’Takk…’ era, for now they are once again writing songs that are free to lift off to any place the listener happens to imagine. It’s like pulling the blinds down, forgetting about all your everyday pressures and immersing yourself in an alternate universe. This has always been the appeal of Sigur Rós and it is none more so exemplified than in this wonderful return.