setlist:

svefn g englar
sé lest
ný batterí
við spilum endalaust
hoppípolla
með blóðnasir
fljótavík
sæglópur
inní mér syngur vitleysingur
viðrar vel til loftárása
olsen olsen
hafssól
gobbledigook
popplagið
all alright



metro london

second only to radiohead in experimental rock's international super league, sigur rós have spent the past decade collaborating with orchestras and inventing new languages to forge their triumphant, otherworldly sound. no televised sporting occasion or wildlife documentary is now complete without a blast of the icelandic quartet's music. new album med sud í eyrum vid spilum endalaust suggests they are enjoying that ubiquity too, with traditional song structures and even an english lyric.

any notion that the band were losing their edge is quashed early on by a brace of old favourites, including a weightless rendition of hoppípolla that momentarily sucks the air out of the room. at moments like this the band have more in common with a classical orchestra, such is their command of dynamic arrangements. though officially accompanied by a brass quintet and string quartet, those labels do a disservice to the nine multi-instrumentalists who bustle around the core members, picking up xylophones, flutes and even ticker tape guns on their way.

latest single gobbledigook certainly benefits from the added manpower, with a five-strong drum tattoo and the sight of grown men in white suits clapping each others hands. their fanciful sense of humour is often forgotten amid the constant crescendos but it provides much needed contrast to their heavier work outs.

the encore of popplagi' is one such moment. bathed in red light and punctuated by strobes, the band build up a galloping momentum and for a brief moment they are no longer mere musicians but the four horsemen making good on their apocalyptic promise.

(steve pill)

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