[rating=4.50] The only thing more difficult than pronouncing Sigur Rós correctly is making a go at their latest album title – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust. The native title translates to “With a Buzz In Our Ears, We Play Endlessly,” which the Icelandic band does with their epic sonic landscapes that possess the power to hypnotize the listener. On the percussion friendly opener “Gobbledigook”, Sigur Rós almost owns a radio song, as their compositions begin to finally signify structure and song focus. “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” continues in the same three to four minute song format, and you can almost understand what front-man Jónsi is singing about. Much credit needs to go to producer Flood (U2, Smashing Pumpkins), who took the band out of their Icelandic elements and had them record in New York (Sear Sound and Sterling Sound), London (Abbey Road and Assault & Battery) and Havana. “Ára Bátur” was performed with a full orchestra and the London Oratory Boys Choir and features 90 people playing at once, while “Festival,” clocking in at nine minutes. mirrors the dreamlike Sigur Rós of 2005’s Takk. And as a reward for making it to the final track “All Alright,” Sigur Rós find themselves singing a song solely in English for the first time. Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is the first chance for the quartet to expand beyond their own comfort zone and for listeners to do the same and give Sigur Rós a chance when previously it might of been a bit too foreign.
