New Sigur Ros album: gorgeous and baffling at the same time
"Takk ...," the fourth and most recent release from Sigur Ros, is an epic undertaking on many levels. Members Georg Holm, Kjartan Sveinsson, Jon vor Birgisson and Orri Pall Dyrason spent 20 months writing, recording and producing an album whose challenge to the listener lies in its unconventional sound rather than any hard-to-digest concept. Hovering somewhere between ambient noise and pop, "Takk" should be the soundtrack to trendy elevators and lobbies around the world. There is no "filler," per se, since the whole album exists to fill aural space with its carefully arranged crescendos, power chords and orchestration. Already commercially and critically successful, it probably will give muzak a little hipster credibility.