Anyone expecting Sigur Ros to have abandoned their emotional and majestic approach will think again after hearing the opening bars of their new album, ( ). When Sigur Ros released their second long player Agaetis Byrjun back in 1999, they caught everyone on the hop. Though it was pretty much the first anyone outside of their native Iceland had heard of them, the quartet had been ...
Manufacturer: Fat Cat
Reykjavík-based noise quartet Sigur Ros are the biggest band in their native Iceland, which should say much, much more about the collective insanity of that earthquake-ridden, blizzard-beaten crag of an island than anything to do with Sigur Ros' sound. But in their music, Sigur Ros reflect all the breathtaking glory of the Icelandic wastes--a fairy-tale explosion of unhinged elemental majesty ...
To the casual observer, the holidays are the happiest, jolliest time of the year: the blinking lights, the merry carols, the parties, the good cheer on every street corner and in every shop. However, the statistics tell us that, for many, the holidays are the time of year when depression reaches its annual peak. It is for these people, then, that American slow-core three-piece Low have released ...
Manufacturer: Tugboat
Scots avant-rockers Mogwai may never quite shake their reputation as determined sonic brutalists, but a spin of Happy Songs for Happy People demonstrates that they're no longer simply set on rendering the aural equivalent of being sucked out a spaceship airlock. Although always a democracy, previously, Stuart Braithwaite had taken on the role of Mogwai's bandleader-by-proxy, his tumultuous ...
Manufacturer: Pias
Scottish noise terrorists Mogwai were weaned on a diet of intense, experimental American rock. Accordingly, Come On Die Young has the darkest heart; thankfully, though, it's by no means an unlistenable prospect. The opening track, "Punk Rock", samples a bootlegged interview with Iggy Pop, in which the man claims "I don't know Johnny Rotten. But I'm sure he puts as much blood, and sweat into ...
Manufacturer: Chemikal Underground
It's hard to imagine this disc coming out of Montreal or, really, any urban habitat. The post-rock instrumentals on f#a#(infinity symbol), distantly related to the sounds made by the Australian band Dirty Three, serve as walking music for a loner hoping to hitch a ride in the middle of the Arizona desert and dealing with the inevitability of another night in coyote territory. Godspeed's ...
Manufacturer: Kranky
With no vocals (the closest they get is spoken word samples) God Speed You Black Emperor let the music speak for itself. The two CDs which make up Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven divide into four compositions (each about 20 minutes long) that see a continuation of GSYBE's orchestral exploration of space rock, utilising instruments such as violins, cellos and French horns ...
A collection of tracks culled from BBC radio sessions recorded throughout Mogwai's career, Government Commissions is as close as these foundation-shaking Scottish instrumental rockers have got so far to a Greatest Hits collection. Rather than running riot through their back catalogue, however, it's clear that this retrospective has been sequenced to write a specific history. Opening with ...
Quieter, slower, softer; that's the motto of Minnesota's Low. The Christmas EP, first released in 1999, saw this Mormon slowcore trio reinterpreting a number of seasonal standards and writing a few new ones in their own pared-down style; a first-time listener might assume it was the heritage of songs like "Little Drummer Boy" that lent Christmas its quiet power. They'd be wrong; ...
Manufacturer: Constellation
