Sigur Rós Hvarf/Heim Rating: 8.2 Label: Xl Recordings For fans of: Explosions In The Sky, Múm

If I were to explain Sigur Rós to those with virgin ears, I would have to say their music sounds like those last few hours in the life of a great classical composer. Just as insanity sets in, and wild visions of deamons, and spirits try to consume his soul, he furiously uses every ounce of his mind and body to compose the score to conquer these such horrors. His saving grace, his great choir of angels summoned to battle hell’s fiery teeth is Sigur Rós.
Now most of us may have our own personal favorites predetermined as Heaven’s eternal choir (I believe when we die we’re ushered into heaven by Ben Gibbard who leaves us to go back to earth where he is needed to convert more people to the throngs of Heaven.), but their music sounds so divine that it needed the analogy, it’s beautifully composed. From start to finish most of their material is akin to being in church on rapture day.
Now on to the music I am reviewing…
Heim seems to be a lot more keys driven than the more orchestral stuff. It’s a great deal more shall we say epic than the older stuff, which shows the band has found what they are good at and have now perfected their art. The Orchestra seems to be not as primarily a function on those acoustic songs. The songs are much less complex but somehow maintain some semblance of strength over the studio songs. Heim is an incredibly intimate disc, it’s much homely and personal than their previous studio releases, which I can tell is exactly what the band was shooting for, after all the title literally means Home. It’s the kind of thing I enjoy listening to on a rainy Sunday where you can’t go outside so you begin to journey in.
Disc two, Hvarf is something to behold. The quality is fantastic. The orchestra comes in crystal clear throughout the tracks and the audio swells and falls off at the right times. For a collection of B-sides and previously unreleased stuff, it sure holds its own compared to a full studio album. This band is hands down one of the most dynamic bands I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to and these albums are no exception. Their songs are so engrossing sometimes it’s hard to rip your head away from them to go to day ahead.

Written by: Matt on November 12th, 2007 | Filed under Music Reviews