
Kveikur, the seventh full length album from the Icelandic post-rock group, sees the band depart from their typical sound. It is released just over a year after their first post-hiatus album, Valtari, which was criticised by many fans for being more of the same.
This release is far from being more of the same. Kveikur takes the band in a heavier, but simpler direction. It is notable for being the first release since the departure of multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson and their first release as a trio since their 1997 début, Von. In contrast to the thinned out production of 2008’s Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, Kveikur is arguably the most over-produced album the band has released, using a similar production style to Valtari. The use of reverb is even more extensive on this album than any of their past work, and there is a greater influence of electronic elements.
Kveikur shows a change in dynamic within the band itself. The three remaining members gain the spotlight more often they did in the past, especially percussionist Orri Páll Dýrason and bassist Georg Holm, who shine more here than on any past Sigur Rós album. Lead singer and guitarist Jónsi continues to perform well with his signature falsetto vocals and bowed guitar playing. The ambient driven sections and orchestral arrangements remain important to the band’s music, but this time around the songs are shorter with more emphasis on the rock instrumentation.
The songs on this album can, for the most part, be divided into two categories: heavier, industrial influenced rock songs and more easy-listening, pop-oriented songs. ‘Brenninstein’ opens the album with a bang, instantly making it clear that the band have taken a new direction. ‘Hraftinna’, one of the band’s best songs to date and the best song on the album, continues with a ballad song structure and less focus on electronics. This song continues the trend of pounding electric guitars, bass, and drums, but features an interesting assortment of percussion instruments, and the most prominent string and horn arrangements on the album. The song ends with a simple, but haunting horn section that adds a nice sense of closure to the song. The title track, ‘Kveikur’ is the final of the industrial driven songs, coming in a little over the halfway mark. It is similar to ‘Hrafntinna’, but is faster-paced, almost capable of competing with the famous ‘Untitled 8’ for the ‘heaviest song’ title if the song had a more interesting build up.
In between these heavy tracks are the gleeful, pop tracks. These are more aggressive than past Sigur Ros ‘pop songs’ in that they are shorter, have more explosive choruses, and use the most standard song structures in their entire discography. ‘Isjaki’ has the best example of an ‘explosive chorus’ on the album (arguably from their entire career), while ‘Stormur’ is the most mellow of them, almost a throwback to previous Sigur Rós songs by utilising pretty glockenspiel melodies and the most traditional guitar playing on the album. ‘Rafstraumur’ is sonically captivating, but at times almost feels like generic, ‘uplifting’, advertisement music. It is well performed, but something a bit more creative would be expected from Sigur Rós.
In addition to the heavy and pop tracks, there are those that stand on their own. ‘Yfirborð’ is placed in between ‘Isjaki’ and ‘Stormur’, functioning as a darker, mellower break between the album’s two most blissful tracks. This song was criticised for being underwhelming by many fans who first saw it performed live. While not exploding like other tracks on the album, this song is great in its own way, making interesting use of electronic instruments and being a good song to listen to on proper headphones. ‘Bláþráður’ initially seemed compositionally weak and predictable, but the dramatic pacing and pulsating drums make it a grower. The only downfall is the generic atmospheric section at its closure that has no real purpose. The album finishes with ‘Var’, a short piano outro in the style of several past compositions, designed to evoke a wide variety of emotions at the close of the album. This trick is just as effective here as it has been in the past.
Kveikur is an album that shows Sigur Rós becoming a more accessible, ‘normal’ band, but this does not mean they have given up on the experimentation they are known for. The band is as experimental as ever, just in a different way. This is a solid release filled with wonderful songs, but is not quite as interesting as past releases such as Takk… and Ágætis byrjun. Despite that, Sigur Rós have found a new, more conventional style that they excel at during a time when fans were not sure how much longer the band could continue composing consistently great music in their usual style.
carlcockatoo’s rating: 4.5/5
Tags: album review, Kveikur, Sigur Rós