Sigur Ros; Hvarf/Heim (EMI) BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2007

 |   |  <1 min read

Sigur Ros: Von
Sigur Ros; Hvarf/Heim (EMI) BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2007

More mysterious loveliness on a double-disc which, in the release schedule of most bands, might have seemed like a stop-gap measure: previously unreleased tracks and rarities, and stripped-back versions of other material.

If Eric Clapton or the Arctic Monkeys had done this you'd be yawning.

But Sigur Ros from Iceland create such eerie sonic landscapes -- some stretching to an 10 engrossing minutes -- that this has the feel of yet another beguiling chapter in a story you hope will never end.

Sigur Ros have, quite literally, created their own language (Hopelandic they call it) and make the music -- which owes very little to rock, even post-rock -- to match it. Enchanting.

And if it didn't appear in too many other lists of "best albums" it is because I believe too many other writers gave a cursory listen or looke dat the cover and took it to be that stop-gap thing.

Good Lord, a hiatus should always be this good.

By the way, the doco-DVD Heima which is the companion to this double disc is a gem.

Best music DVD of the year? Very likely.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha (Spunk) BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2007

Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha (Spunk) BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2007

Years ago this Chicago singer-songwriter-violinist helmed his band Bowl of Fire through strange back-alleys of music which referred to blues and jazz of the 20s, circuses and travelling shows,... > Read more

Tim Guy: Big World (Monkey)

Tim Guy: Big World (Monkey)

Back in the late Sixties and early Seventies there were a number of great but ignored bands and artists (Left Banke, Dwight Twilley Band, Merry-Go-Round and their singer-songwriter Emitt Rhodes who... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

YASMIN BROWN PICKS HER BEST OF 2020 EPs

YASMIN BROWN PICKS HER BEST OF 2020 EPs

Yes, 2020 was a strange one but musicians in lockdown actually had time on their hands to finish off singles, EPs or albums. Or start and finish them. We've already had the Editor's Choice of... > Read more

Lindsay Beaver: Tough as Love (Alligator/Southbound)

Lindsay Beaver: Tough as Love (Alligator/Southbound)

For her Alligator debut singer/drummer Lindsay Beaver lives up to the label's remit of tough blues, and the album title. She's a real blues belter in the manner of Etta James (but in front of... > Read more