Sigur Rós - Kveikur
Critic Score
Based on 39 reviews
2013 Ratings: #117 / 1115
User Score
Based on 739 ratings
2013 Rank: #47
Liked by 97 people
June 17, 2013 / Release Date
LP / Format
XL / Label
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Drowned in Sound

Kveikur is as melodic and, in places, as fragile as anything the band have released before. 

90
musicOMH

On Kveikur, even the tracks that start off poppy end up dark, a trait that comes across as honest and dynamic rather than relentlessly morbid.

90
The Line of Best Fit

This is dark, progressive music for dark, adult emotions. There’s little that’s whimsical or playful to it, and yet it’s still, somehow, pop music – despite being quite unlike anything else currently in the global mainstream.

90
Alternative Press

Kveikur is a masterstroke effort.

90
Paste

Though Kveikur is more anxious and busy than a lot of their past output, it still possesses the heavenly quality all their other records so admirably held on to as well. 

90
God Is in the TV
Yet another dense, diverse, painstakingly crafted work of genius from a band at the peak of their remarkable powers.
90
The 405

It's unsettling, chaotic, vengeful, astounding, invigorating and forces you to feel a plethora of cacophonous emotions concurrently. It's their loudest record. It's their darkest record. It's their best record in a long, long time.

84
Beats Per Minute

The variety of experience it offers not just from Valtari, but from the band’s entire catalogue, means that it stands among their best.

83
A.V. Club

It’s breathtaking as well as bloodcurdling.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

For Sigur Rós, Kveikur is their most gloves-off release to date and they land the punch.

81
Pitchfork

A collection that works as effectively as a spiritual experience and pop music, the essence of their overwhelming, widescreen grandeur conveyed with the immediacy of a 50-minute rock record.

80
Time Out London
Album number seven by the Icelanders shows a distorted new direction.
80
Slant Magazine

If the intuitive, star-gazing Valtari served as the rediscovery of Sigur Rós's signature sound, then the instinctual, sober Kveikur is its compulsive reinvention.

80
Clash
No two songs sound similar and, while Jonsi’s vocals confirm that this is, really, the artist on the album sleeve, it is far from more of the same.
80
The Guardian
There's an edge of menace that wasn't there before, and the dirt beneath their fingernails seems to suit them.
80
The Independent
It's an album packed with Wordsworthian sturm und drang.
80
Northern Transmissions
Once the kings of serene now Sigur Ros are the purveyors of something more sinister, something wicked this way comes.
80
Spectrum Culture

There’s little on this album that could be relegated to background music, but it still delivers the emotional payload of their earlier material. Coming fairly quickly on the heels of their 2012 album Valtari, Kveikur reassures their audience that the band hasn’t lost momentum trying to regroup.

80
Q Magazine
Here they sound as out of place as ever, and all the better for it.
80
Tiny Mix Tapes

I think Keveikur will, for awhile, make a lovely soundtrack as I walk along the shore.

80
PopMatters

What Kveikur finds these musicians doing is expanding their sound with a sort of Goldilocks principle: not too much or to little change—especially considering how the latter has plagued them before—but just exactly the right amount.

80
DIY

The reinvention of Sigur Rós as clandestine creatures of the night, thunderous and full of chest-out bluster is a development that carries an intrinsic visceral thrill their output could never lay claim to.

80
AllMusic

While Kveikur isn't a complete reinvention of their sound, it's the kind of palette shift that shows just how versatile and creative Sigur Rós can be. 

80
Under the Radar

For those whose faith might have been temporarily tested by Valtari, Kveikur is a vibrant and much-needed reminder that the band's creative well is far from running dry. 

80
NME

On seventh album ‘Kveikur’, Sigur Rós are at their blackest and most sinister, sounding not so much reborn as in the ferocious throes of an almighty exorcism.

80
SPIN

It's initially unnerving to witness indie's most celebrated airy faeries butch it up, but the result ultimately satisfies their what-the-hell-do-we-do-next dilemma better than any record since Ágætis byrjun.

80
Exclaim!

The payoffs on Kveikur are close to immediate, but they're no less orchestrated than previous work, coming across like a more focused and fleshed out Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra with sweeter vocals.

70
Consequence of Sound

Those who have followed the band down the same trails for years will happily be able to do so again. But those who are still hungry for the thickets of Ágætis byrjun or the haunted tundra of Von won’t find many new landmarks here. 

70
No Ripcord

It’s a startling album, at once declaring the band’s total independence, their adoration for the music they have made, and their desire to break free, as if somehow trapped.

70
Uncut
All in all, a neat side-stepping of expectations and a timely one.
70
Rolling Stone

Kveikur has structure and, hello, grit like never before.

60
NOW Magazine
All their hallmarks (choral crescendos, swooping melodies and stately horns) and a few curveballs (The xx-esque 4/4 beat on Yfirbor∂) are present, but the songs reach their emotional climax quickly.
60
Mojo

Kveikur largely conforms to existing Sigur Ros templates, and though the quirky rhythms and ethereal vocals of Isjaki spawn a certain magic, something is audibly lacking here.

60
The Arts Desk
The debt to second-album Ride and – less happily – what Coldplay owe to Sigur Rós has never been more apparent.
60
FACT Magazine

Kveikur is by no means a bad record: beautifully arranged, it does a good job of avoiding the twee sugariness of Sigur Rós’ last couple of albums. That said, its elements of darkness feel incidental to the overall triumphal blueprint.

60
The Skinny

Overall, Kveikur is their most teeth-out release for a while.

40
The Observer
The trouble is, much of it still sounds about as vital as Coldplay Babelfished into Icelandic.
UltimateLifeFrm
90

Wasn't expecting a dark side to Sigur Rós!

Kveikur (meaning either fuse or candlewick) is the 7th album from the Icelandic post-rock band, released in June 2013. It sees the band taking a new direction in contrast to their previous works, musically & thematically.

I'm always fascinated by the cinematic grace of Rós' music and the journey it takes us all on along the way. It poses an uplifting cinematic undertone that slowly unleash all the negative vibes I'd have out into ... read more

Dombot
94

One of the many things I adore about Sigur Ros' discography is how alive their music sounds. It sounds almost alien at times, in a good way- I sometimes find it really hard to believe actual humans were behind this rather than some peaceful otherworldly species from another galaxy. This album, though... Kveikur is really different. Yes, it's grandiose, ethereal, and shockingly well-performed and crafted... but this record is NOT peaceful. This album is alive, but not as a peaceful alien ... read more

Pieter
90

Sigur Rós Discography Speedrun #7:
This record sounds exactly like the album cover in a way that I can not explain. Scary as fuck I guess...
With this album, Sigur Rós switches to a less ambient style again, and I have to say that this works out way better than their last record. Every track is amazing, and the drums on songs like Yfirborð (which is rated the worst?!). Stormur and Kveikur sound amazing.
And as usual, the instrumentation is insane as well. After all these ... read more

Ricezen
89

evil takk

paulrivet
95

Sigur Rós' darkest album yet it is still so beautiful

83

So atmospheric and dark I love this. An absolutely terrifying listen.

Purchasing Kveikur from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Brennisteinn
7:44
97
2Hrafntinna
6:22
91
3Ísjaki
5:03
94
4Yfirborð
4:19
84
5Stormur
4:55
89
6Kveikur
5:55
93
7Rafstraumur
4:57
93
8Bláþráður
5:11
93
9Var
3:43
90
Total Length: 48 minutes
Sign in to comment
8mo
9mo
9mo
9mo


Added on: March 22, 2013