Sigur Rós: Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

Less than ten seconds into "Gobbledigook", the opening track of Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, it's clear that Sigur Rós has made a long overdue change in direction. Three albums of pretty much the same sound was beginning to get a little stale. By the time Takk... was released, they were just treading water. Now it seems Sigur Rós has been paying a little more attention what's going ob outside their own insular world. The melodies still are soaring and pretty and spacy (it would hardly be a Sigur Rós record otherwise), but the instrumentation is much more complex. There are fewer strings and more varied instruments like horn sections showing up on various tracks. Rhythm is more prominent than it has ever been on a Sigur Rós album. At moments, there is even an unmistakable Animal Collective influence. Finally shedding some of the trappings that were beginning to make Sigur Rós a bit dull, they are now free to explore their undiscovered potential. If Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust is an indication, then their best days may still be ahead of them.