Sigur Ros Unveil First Single, Album Details
Four years after releasing their rolls-off-the-tongue album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, atmospheric Icelandic group Sigur Ros dropped some details on Valteri, their upcoming sixth album set for release May 29 on XL Recordings.
The eight-song, 54-minute set takes its title from the Icelandic word for "steamroller," which isn't the first word I'd use to describe the band's glacial, measured pace. In a press release, the band described their sound as "an avalanche in slow motion," which is way more like it.
So what do we know about Valteri? Some of the song's roots go back as far as 2002, though three of the songs, “Rembihnútur,” “Fjögur piano” and the title track, were recorded during sessions for their last album. After various side projects, the group reconvened last year to finish Valteri.
“I really can’t remember why we started this record, I no longer know what we were trying to do back then," bassist Georg Holm said in a statement. "I do know session after session went pear-shaped [read: gone wrong], we lost focus and almost gave up... [and] did give up for a while. But then something happened and form started to emerge, and now I can honestly say that it’s the only Sigur Rós record I have listened to for pleasure in my own house after we’ve finished it.”
Perhaps a biased opinion, but I'll vouch for their track record. Listen to the first single, "Ekki Múkk," below.
Sigur Ros, "Ekki Múkk"
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