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166 of 188 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of 2005: If you could see their music... you would see heaven, September 20, 2005
Words will never suffice to adequately describe the music of Sigur Ros. Coming from Iceland, in a little more than five years, they've made the universe their stage, with a sound that doesn't repeat anywhere else in nature and touching some of the deepest fibers you could ever imagine to be found inside of you.
With a balance of instruments and ethereal voices that doesn't know barriers or limitations imposed by musical genres, their fourth album, "Takk...", exceeds all expectations by their previous fans, leaving their previous production, "( )", in the dust. It will take you in a trance you will not want to leave and it will force those riding with you in the car to tag along with you, something that they are not likely to regret.
If you think I am exaggerating, take a pick: there's almost no part of this album that you can go wrong with. Whether you want to call their sound post-rock or any other name you care to give it, it doesn't matter. The truth is, if you could see their music... you would see heaven.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exhiliarating, Takk is an unqualified improvement, September 14, 2005
It's not a joke to say that "Takk . . ." is Sigur Ros's most accessible album, but anyone who heard its cryptic predecessor, "()," knows that the Icelandic quartet has a long way to paddle to reach the mainstream.
Specialists in abstract soundscapes that sometimes coalesce into melody, singer Jonsi Birgisson and his cohorts don't construct verse-chorus-verse rockers or loop-and-thump ravers. But the band, working with co-producer Ken Thomas, has brought new focus and presence to its wispy music on "Takk . . . " (which means "Thanks"). While such fantasias as the 10-minute "Milano" resemble a mash-up of Eno, Sibelius and Radiohead, the pretty (and relatively compact) "Hoppipolla" has moments that suggest a Nordic interpretation of circa 1966 Beach Boys.
The group has playfully labeled "Takk . . . " its rock 'n' roll album, and the drums and guitars are more emphatic than before; "Glosoli" even builds to a climax that crashes and burns like My Bloody Valentine. Devotees of Sigur Ros's breakthrough release, 1999's "Agaetis Byrjun," may find this one too extroverted. Yet there are many familiar timbres, starting with Birgisson's falsetto and including twinkling keyboards and slithering bowed instruments (guitar and violin). What has changed is the sense of dynamics, which doesn't alter the band's fundamental design. It's just that many of this disc's loveliest passages are set off by roars rather than whispers.
Hell, even if you tried, a serious, involved listen to Takk... will blow that can right open. It's that well-constructed, thoughtful, emotionally provocative and cathartic.
Takk is one of the very few ways major labels get it right. Music like this deserves a wide audience, for its sheer audacity, skill, and penetrating beauty.
This is simply the best of Sigur Ros.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tears after the most beautiful album, November 3, 2005
I came to know them while being in Australia when meeting my Icelandic girlfriend at the time... she gave me as a present Agaetis Byrjun. When I played it, it was the most beautiful and soothing sound I had ever heard. The brilliantness of Staralfur made me feel a chill through my bones and Vidrar put tears in my eyes the very first time I heard it. I couldn't believe how it was possible that people produced such beautiful sounds. Their music made me dream, made me feel. Music is not music if you can't feel it and Sigur Rós's sound makes you drift away to a different world. A world different from us, a wolrd only possible when listening to these beautiful sounds.
Then ( ) came into the light. It was completely different from Agaetis. More sober, more obscure bust just as beautiful. Untitled #1 is haunting and despite everyone saying that it is kind of depressing, I find it highly cheerful and happy. Another song that when the moment is right brings tears into my eyes.
But Takk... Takk... is heaven. Takk's sound is the most cheerful album the band has ever made. The striking intro to Glósóli and how the song delivers its climax is brilliant. Takk is beautiful, Takk is celestial voices. Takk's beauty cannot be described with words. Hoppippolla follows with a piano arrangement that goes deep into the mind to explore and to illuminate even the most darkest of caves. For myself, I can't help but shed some tears everytime I hear this album.. it doesn't matter which song because every single one is absolutely brilliant and beautiful in its own way. Takk is a celebration for life, a celebration for all the beautiful things that are present in this world. Even people who are not Sigur Rós fans will find this album highly listenable and enjoyable.
Takk will be hard to top... everytime I listen to it, I cannot satisfy myself with any other type of music. It's just that beautiful. The best disc so far, and for me, one of the greatest of all time by one of the most incredible groups ever to be present on this earth. Who would say that this foursome who play the guitar with violin bows, the bass with drum sticks and uses xylophones and bells would produce the most beautiful sounds of the earth?
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