Gig played on 09/10/05

Iceland's Sigur Ros are the marmite of the pop world. Love or hate might be strong terms to use but indifference seems unlikely. Singer Jonsi Birgisson's surreal, invented language (Hopelandish, apparently) and vocal style (an androgynous cat), the grandiose epic compositions and the acute pretensions (entitling an album "()") will either bore or enthral depending on your own particular mental state. What is beyond dispute, after tonight's mammoth two-and-a half hour performance, is that there's something otherworldly about these four waifish, nondescript men.

In the past, comparisons in terms of intensity have been made with the likes of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Mogwai on the decidedly apocalyptic tracks, while at other times there's a shifting ambience bringing to mind the Cocteau Twins. However, Sigur Ros are defiantly still mining a path that is all their own.

Which brings us to the Brixton Academy. This couldn't be further from a conventional rock concert, yet at times they rock so hard it hurts, though always majestically. As the opening bass thud of "Glosoli" kicks in, the band appear behind a see-through screen which gives them the appearance of aliens, as the screen rises a nine-piece brass band is revealed just as the thunderous noise of the song reaches its apex.

New album "Takk" may have tided-up their expansive soundscapes marginally but live Sigur Ros won't be contained. Each track segues seamlessly into the next as projections and strobes guide us, semi-stunned, away from the humdrum of dull office jobs and cold, dark winter nights. The more conventionally shaped, if not named, of the tracks - "Hoppipolla", "Saegoplur" - get the biggest reaction from the awestruck crowd, but it's their ability to keep the interest levels running high for the entire performance that's the key.

As the curtain draws on a spellbinding performance, to produce the shadow of Birgisson once again lacerating his guitar with a violin bow, fragments of white noise obliterate our senses. A man standing next to Yahoo! Music and with a grin from ear-to-ear announces to his equally bewildered and spaced-out mate that this is the best thing he's ever seen. He's overplaying it, of course, but tonight Sigur Ros have assured their place as one of the greats in the pantheon of post-rock.

by Chris Nye-Browne