( )

Sigur Rós - ()

Sigur Rós, and specifically Jónsi, are a masterclass in painting an emotional landscape. They created their own language and Jonsi has mentioned multiple times that it is essentially gibberish. Even if it is just gibberish, the emotions portrayed in the arrangements express things in a way that simple lyrics could not express. With the understanding of how Sigur Ros composes, () might be the prime example of their skills.

With all the tracks being Untitled and if you specifically have the vinyl, it can technically be started at any point in the record and continue on and a story can be drawn from it. However, for the sake of this review, we will go in the normal sequence of songs. In the normal sequence, the album takes us through a journey of loss, grief, pain, and perseverance.

The record starts out with a subdued but still happier note in the first couple of tracks. It has a feeling of a comfortable and long love. However, the subdued and slightly darker undertones allude to something that is lurking beyond. The tone slowly gets darker as we play through track 3 and move into track 4. Track 4 is where the calm before the storm happens. The sense of melancholy/complacency sets in, but towards the end of the track we start to feel that something is off or missing. The abrupt (if streaming) or long silent pause (if listening to the vinyl) into track 5 is when it is revealed that pain and loss is at hand. The way that the track builds up for a solid 8 minutes and crescendos with the bowed guitar and organ reveals the true loss. The organ wails remind me of the organ wails of songs played at funerals. Track 6 is gieving process with it again building into a complete set of despair and anger. The despair set in Track 6 leads to the the bottom falling out in Track 7. The peak of the song feels like a free fall with the last 45 seconds of the bottom being felt. The end of track 7 leaves the listener in with an option.
They could embrace the death or they can continue on into the final track. The final track has a tone shift real quick. The tone at the beginning is more uplifting than what was experienced in the last 2 and half tracks. As the vocals kick in almost 2 minute in, the listener realizes that this isn't going to be an easy path forward. It is going to a long climb back to the surface. The final part of the song is realization that this isn't just a climb it is a full on battle. However, once the battle is over and the noise settles, a sense of peace kicks in. A peace and realization that there is going to be times of happiness and times of sorrow, but the key is to know that even with death all around, life can still shine through.

() really is an album that can draw out emotions in a listener they never realized they had. However, it is one of those albums that if only listened to half-heartedly, a lot will be missed. It requires ones full attention to really draw out the amazing landscape that Jonsi and company paint.