After all the hullaballoo and (completely free and wonderful) streaming of HEIMA all over, all the rabid Sigur Ros fans are ready for more, the new song, the new album, the complete (and possibly NSFW) album art by Lower East Side wunderkind Ryan McGinley.
(recommended reading: a New York Magazine piece on him, Dash Snow and Dan Colen, I still keep by my bedside)
The buzz is already all over every website and and this is what they have in store for you:
TONIGHT:
The first track from the album, entitled “Gobbledigook,” will be unveiled with a world exclusive first play on England’s Radio 1 tonight (May 27th) by Zane Lowe on the Evening Session. The track will then be available worldwide for free download via www.sigurros.com beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST. The video for the song will also premiere on sigurros.com today.
June 24th:
Sigur Rós will be releasing their fifth album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English translation: with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), on XL Recordings.
In the meantime:
A pre-sale for the album will begin on the band’s website on June 2nd; fans who pre-order the album will receive a download of the record a week before the album’s release. A special deluxe edition of the album to be released later in the year - featuring a “Making Of…” book, a film and more - will also be available to pre-order on the band’s website as of June 2nd. A stream of Með suð í eyrum… will be available to hear on sigurros.com on June 9th. Lastly, a plethora of Sigur Rós goodies - exclusive clips, information on tickets for upcoming shows throughout the year, etc. - will be available to those who sign up for the mailing list on sigurros.com.
Með suð í eyrum… was co-produced with the band by renowned producer Flood, and was recorded in New York City (at Sear Sound Studios), London (at Assault and Battery Studios and Abbey Road), Reykjavík (at Álafoss, the band’s studio, as well as a church in Reykjavík), and Havana, Cuba. Whereas Sigur Rós’ last release - the critically-acclaimed documentary Heima, chronicling their free tour throughout Iceland - took the band to their homeland, their newest creation, Með suð í eyrum… is the first album in the band’s career to be made outside of Iceland. It is also their first album to feature vocalist Jón “Jónsi” Thor Birgisson’s vocals in English on one track (the remainder are sung in Icelandic).
Inspired by the unfettered feeling of the acoustic performances filmed during Heima, Sigur Rós decided to adopt a looser approach in the writing and creation of their brilliant fifth album. The material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after its completion. The album glows with the perfect imperfection of live takes, the sounds of fingers playing guitar strings, cracked notes, and a stark, upfront presence not found in previous Sigur Rós recordings, moving away from reverb-soaked guitar sounds towards something altogether more affecting. The record also contains some of the most joyous music the band has ever recorded.
Opener “Gobbledigook” sets the tone for Með suð í eyrum… with its shifting acoustic guitars, playful vocals, time signature swings and swirling percussion, while “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” (”Within me a lunatic sings”) sparkles as one of the most anthemic songs Sigur Rós have ever written. “Festival” is epic in its elation and scope, “Illgresi” features one of Jónsi’s finest vocal melodies over a lone acoustic guitar, and “Ára bátur” is the largest musical undertaking in the band’s career, as it was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boy’s Choir, a total of 90 people playing at the same time. The band also utilized the talents of their string-quartet friends Amiina, as well as a five-piece brass section on certain tracks, in addition to introducing the Mellotron into their writing/recording process for the first time on this album, highlighted on one of the most tender and beautiful songs on the record, “Fljótavík.”
The spirit of Með suð í eyrum… is best captured by the album’s stunning artwork, contributed by acclaimed visual artist Ryan McGinley. McGinley first met the band when he photographed Jónsi six years ago; the album cover was taken from a flyer for McGinley’s most recent exhibit, “I Know Where the Summer Goes,” which happened to find its way into Jónsi’s inbox just as the band was deciding on how to best visually represent their new collection of songs. The result is a perfect synergy of the aural and the visual.
The tracklisting for Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) is…
1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
3. Góðan daginn
4. Við spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Með suð í eyrum
7. Ára bátur
8. Illgresi
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright
Sigur Rós will be playing shows all over the globe throughout the summer and fall to preview material from Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, including a special set at this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
The tour dates (NONE OF WHICH ARE IN DC!) are:
06-05 Guadalajara, Mexico - Teatro Degollado
06-07 Tepoztlan, Mexico - Festival la Colmena
06-08 Tijuana, Mexico - Multiculti
06-11 Omaha, NE - Orpheum Theater
06-12 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
06-14 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06-16 New York, NY - Grand Ballroom
06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-22 Scheesel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
07-05 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-08 Vienna, Austria - Arena
07-09 Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
07-11 Florence, Italy - Giardino di Boboli
07-12 Rome, Italy - Cavea Auditorium
07-13 Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
07-14 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkhaus
07-17 Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim Festival
07-19 Suffolk, England - Latitude Festival
08-01 Melbourne, Australia - Festival Hall
08-02 Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavilion
08-03 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass
08-07 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
08-08 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West
08-09 Copenhagen, Denmark - Beat Day Festival
08-11 Cologne, Germany - Philharmonie
08-12 Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
08-13 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrum
08-15 St. Malo, France - La Route du Rock Festival
08-17 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands Festival
08-18 Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof
08-19 Prague, Czech Republic - Arena HC Sparta Praha
08-20 Warsaw, Poland - Palladium
08-22 Riga, Latvia - Arena
08-24 Helsinki, Finland - Kulttuuritalo
08-26 St. Petersburg, Russia - TYUZ Theatre
08-27 Moscow, Russia - B1
08-29 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic Festival
08-31 Argyll, Scotland - Hydro Connect Festivall
re: taylor
the person who interviewed them should go work for a telemarketing agency and not interview bands. they probably left there thinking what a joke the guy was.
I’ve heard lots of people criticize the interviewer. But I’m a publicist by trade and I think this is first and foremost, the publicist’s fault. He / she should have realized that this wasn’t a good match for the band. And second, the band’s fault…for being total jerks in an interview. Always be charming - you can laugh about the interviewer later if you must and if you’re the type of person who enjoys laughing at others.
May 27, 2008 at 2:56 pmi have a photo of my friend kissing one of the asses in that mcginley photo from when it was at team gallery. i might have to buy this album now!
May 27, 2008 at 9:58 pmI read the NY mag Snow profile and still can’t make up my mind about it. Head-scratching…
May 28, 2008 at 12:29 amthe song (and video) are now ready for your taking:
plus, you know more nOOdz
May 28, 2008 at 7:03 am
Sigur Ros: When Good Interviews Go Bad
May 27, 2008 at 1:14 pmhttp://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/when_good_interviews_go_bad.html