Sigur Ros: doing it better than ever

September not only marks the end of the summertime but the beginning of the year’s most commercial period in music. And, the industry gets well geared up for it, with big hitters - from The Rolling Stones’ album released a few weeks ago, to Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘Chaos And Creation In The Backyard’ [this week] and Franz Ferdinand [next month] and Robbie Williams... Alas, it also means that art dies a little bit more every day…

That’s why a band such as Icelandic Sigur Ros should be celebrated even more. Their new, fourth album, ‘Takk’, shows that you can combine singing in Icelandic, some strange tonal beauty and still be a pop band. Although their previous disc was largely blank - title-less bar ‘()’, songs sans names and inlay card empty for listeners to draw their own artwork - this time they’ve build the set around soft/loud dynamic with melodies that at times sound positively hedonistic.

‘Takk’ is certainly more conventional record but still a radiant post-rock work. It glows in the dark of our times that are getting bogged down in its own recycling mode. There are proper songs here and although some take time to grow into their glorious conclusions, such as ‘Saeglopur’, or standout ‘Glosoli’, there are even moments of humour: ‘Se Lest’ gets its chiming glockenspiels replaced by an oomph band.

Sigur Ros are like a drop in the ocean but the vital one. And, they’ve never sounded so accessible… As the album title says, ‘Takk’ - ‘Thanks’.

This should be celebrated with a parade across London, just like the victorious cricket team… Sadly, not having promotional budget anywhere near Sir Macca’s, this will have a trifle of the impact of the former Beatle’s disc.

Nevertheless, long live these cult heroes.

9/10