Customer Reviews:
 Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust August 1, 2008
If Sigur Ros is an example of where our world is going We are in Good hands. Beautiful, Cathartic, Uplifting and Brilliant!
 The Old Guy's back, and says 4.5 August 1, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I see that the 5 star reviews get the most "helpful" votes. Well guys, I hope you won't penalize me for a slightly less lofty view of the newest sonic blast from Sigur Ros. But this does not measure up, in my opinion. I liked, but did not love Gobbledigook, which was bit meandering and unmusical. (If this is what pop music sounds like today, I really am getting old.) Though the percussionist is an astounding talent, (whom I would list by name if I could, but the dopey lettering on the inside of the CD prevents me from reading it) these pounding repetitive drums just didn't work for me. Not bad....but not great. However, the next track moves to the glorious heights they've frequently achieved before. Inni mer syngur vitleysingur has the dense polyphony and lush keyboards that I like, and they create something new, rather than something that sounds like a recycled track from Agaetis Byrjun, which is a 6 star CD, and still, to my mind, their most complete release. There is a diaphanous buoyancy, a joy, a feeling of some glorious and delicate balance that they build here, and wow, does it work. This may be my second favorite track ever, after "Olsen olsen."
So, that tells you bit about where I'm coming from. There's a bit too much precious and self-conscious noodling around, a little too much cute and dawdling fiddle-faddle. Where it works, it works gloriously. Vid spilum endalaust is another delight. But there is more dead wood, or at least decayed wood, than usual.
Not sorry I bought it, not at all. Will provide much pleasure. And at a good price. But just a step down from the heights they've reached before. First purchase? Try Agaetis Byrjun. Back for a second helping? Then load it up and enjoy!
Meet the new Sigur Ros August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Late 2007 felt like the end of Sigur Ros' first chapter (after an amazing 10 year run), with the release of the gorgeous "Heima" DVD and the almost simultaneous 2CD release of Hvard/Heim, in which the band cleaned out of some of its archives, along with some tracks from the Heima DVD sessions. The question was, what would be next for Sigur Ros? We already have the answer with this album, recorded quickly in January-April 2008 and released not long thereafter, lightning fast by industry standards.
"Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust" (11 tracks, 56 min.) immediately announces itself as the new Sigur Ros with the opener, short but poppy "Gobbldigook", followed by a similar "Inne Mer Syngur Vitleysingur"... what a departure for the band. You have to wait until tracks 5 "Festival" to find anything similar to what the band has produced, and even then it feels different as the 9+ min. plays as 2 tracks in one (slow first half, hard charging second half). The album features mostly acoustic guitars and piano (albeit augmented at times with brass, of all things, and choir), but what is really striking is the complete absence of Birgisson's patented electric guitar-whaling (as I like to call it), which used to be the band's signature sound. There is no electric guitar to be heard here, none. Much is made of the last track, "All Alright", the band's first song featuring English lyrics, but the pitch of the vocals is so slow that you can't make out any of the words anyway and might just as well been in Icelandic or Hope-landic (I had to look up the lyrics on the internet to make sure what the words said).
In all, this is quite a departure for Sigur Ros, but I really like the album, and have been playing this non-stop. I've seen Sigur Ros in concert a number of times, most recently at Bonnaroo in June, where they delivered a fabulous 1 AM set, playing mostly older songs, but a couple of the new album as well. This band is fascinating to follow, and I can't wait to see where Sigure Ros will go from here.
A simple life, filled with complexity. August 1, 2008
I thought the new Sigur Ros cd was fresh and amazing. Since I have bought it, I have listen to it once a day. The album is not up to the same sounds as their last album. But it brings in a new and fresh air of noises. In this album the band has used a wilder tone to the notes. Everytime I listen to the album I can image the forest or a place of solitudes being invaded by the explores of the world. I am happy to say that this album is a great sound wave of beauty.
Simply amazing July 30, 2008
Sigur Ros wrote another masterpiece, it's as simple as that. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Sigur Ros fan and indeed have a biased opinion, but hey, I'm a huge Coldplay fan as well and think that their last album (viva la vida, received it the same day as Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust) is simply and sadly utterly B-A-D, so trust me when I tell you that this new material from "the boys from Iceland" is simply amazing. Following the track laid out by their previous album "Takk", with more upbeat songs (note that "upbeat" is not exactly Sigur Ros's forte, so take that with a grain of salt), it again shows Sigur Ros's incredible skills at mixing "regular" instruments such as guitar (even though they usually love to play it with violin/cello bows, since day 1 with albums like "Von" or "Agaetis Byrjun", go see them live and you'll understand), with amazing strings/orchestras pieces mixed to it, adding amazing hopelandic lyrics/chants/choirs to the mix. Amazingly, I would say that this album is one of the most accessible piece they ever wrote (vs other albums like "()" that could be somewhat challenging to the "Sigur Ros newbie"), and yet, the orchestrations are so amazing that this is simply the best album I've heard this year (for 2008, the best album of 2007 was IMHO "In Rainbows" by Radiohead). Simply buy it, you won't regret it.
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