Various excuses have been made for the music of Sigur Ró. "Well, obviously it's barking mad they're Icelandic" is, of course, a perfectly reasonable supposition, but Slowdive made very similar noises and they came from Reading.
'Post-rock', which Sigur Ró most assuredly are, may be little more than the shoegazing of a decade ago in an ironic T-shirt, but that's no reason to dismiss it outright. For a start, much of it is very lovely.
'ÁæByrjun' in particular stands as one of the most sublime examples of the genre -sombre, certainly, but light with tender beauty all the same. Guitars (all with their 'oceanic' FX pedals set to max) provide a backdrop for violins, horn sections and even harmonicas that layer delicate melodies on top of one another, at once teasing and building, creating tension in order to resolve it. It's skilful stuff.
In Iceland -and this is probably the most significant distinction between our culture and that of the country that spawned them- the music of Sigur Ró tops the charts. Which means that, unlike their UK peers, Sigur Ró did not make this record in order to please a clique.
Sure, nothing here is going to replace 'Rock DJ' as the milkman's favourite whistling tune, but those of you who fancy dipping your toes into something a little unusual will find 'ÁæByrjun' warm and welcoming. And it'll give you a head start on deciphering Radiohead's decidedly similar 'Kid A' before it emerges in October. Take a chance…
