photos by unknown
photos by eric belair
setlist
vaka
fyrsta
samskeyti
salka
ný batterí
njósnavélin
svefn-g-englar
mílanó
hafssól
olsen olsen
popplagið
the new york times
regression and wonderment make a lovely sound in the music of sigur ros, the band
from iceland that played a sold-out concert at the beacon theater on friday.
sigur rósreaches for three kinds of lost innocence. one is childhood, summoned by the androgynous plaint of jon thor birgisson's falsetto vocals and, more tackily, by images of children that often filled the video screen behind the band. another is the awe of church and symphonic music. and the third is the hope and curiosity of early psychedelia, particularly the instrumental meditations of pink floyd. sigur rósseeks the sublime in contemplation, resonance and repetition, with songs that very gradually swell into rock anthems, then taper off with equal deliberation.
the music is reverent and trippy, and it is not for the impatient. sigur rósplayed a leisurely 11 songs in its 100-minute set, only one paced any faster than the most solemn processional. there was a time when punk-trained collegiate listeners would have disdained sigur ros's grand sonic expanses, but no more; the concert was part of the four-day cmj music marathon of college-radio favorites and hopefuls.
sigur rósprovides a refuge from the attack and bustle of most current rock. its songs find majesty in simplicity, using special effects that date to rock's low-tech years. mr. birgisson creates keening sustained notes by bowing his guitar strings; kjartan sveinsson lets stately keyboard arpeggios ring; orri on drums uses brushes or mallets to moderate the beat. in " hafssól," georg holm tapped notes on his bass with a drumstick. members of a string quartet, amina, added an upper layer of chords Ê occasionally sounding like the drones of scandinavian folk fiddling Ê or filled in tinkling sounds with a glockenspiel and extra keyboards.
sigur róspiles on the mystique. singing in icelandic or his own invented language, hopelandic, mr. birgisson is unintelligible to most of his worldwide audience (which has been invited to submit interpretations to the sigur rósweb site, www.sigurros.com). growing even more nonverbal, the new sigur rósalbum (on mca records) has a graphic for a title that looks like "()," and no names are given for the songs, although one was called "njosnavelin (the nothing song)" when it appeared on the "vanilla sky" soundtrack.
the band has titles for others, too; the set list at the soundboard on friday included
"vaka" (track 1), "fyrsta" (track 2), "samskyeti" (track 3) and "popp" (track 8),
the concert's finale, another slow march until it sloughed off the band's restraint
and worked itself up to rock, complete with feedback and galloping, crashing drums.
it was a glimpse of what sigur róshas largely renounced on its otherworldly
mission.
(jon pareles)
bill mccue
sigur rós blew into new york city like a viking ghost ship riding high on the
waves of a stormy sea with a gust of bracing north wind filling its sails. the band's
performance moved at a steady glacial tempo before exploding in spontaneous geyser
bursts of high drama an eventually returning to soothing interludes eerily reminiscent
of a languid midnight bath in a steamy hot spring.
so much for writing a review of the band's show at the beacon theatre without any mentions of their nordic roots, nautical references or allusions to their homeland's weather and landscape.
judging by the post-gig reaction to the band's sold-out performance, it was the lead singer's siren-like falsetto that separated the poseur from the true believer in the audience. people either openly mocked the singer's voice as shrill, piercing and annoying, or paid rapturous homage to its ethereal quality. in other words, you loved his voice or hated it - there was no in-between opinion to be found.
the band conjured a vibe far more akin to a classical music concert or choral performance than a rock show. the lights were kept low as the band used minor chords and slow tempos to evoke a mood that was at once child-like and sinister. stark images of smiling children appeared randomly on the video screen backdrop and heightened the atmosphere. through it all, the audience sat in utter silence with jaws gaping: judging by the facial expressions accompanying that omnipresent pose, reactions ranged from awe to rapture to sheer boredom - sometimes within a song!
sigur rós is not for everybody. if you can imagine early pink floyd - just after syd barrett left - fronted by a singer who's vocal range on the high end rivals liz fraser of the cocteau twins, you're on the right track. if that combination sounds appealing to you, i say check out their new album entitled () and go see them in concert.
just be sure to hit the verve heavy before the show. and bring your parka.
(bill mccue)
