Jón Þór Birgisson, Reykjavik, Iceland, 6;23 PM BY JONATHAN VALANIA
RELATED: Let’s start with an understatement: things tend to move quite slowly in the world of Sigur Rós. This is true whether we’re talking about the glacial pace of their songs, the glacial pace at which they release them, or their artistic progression. In the 13 years since Ágætis Byrjunbecame the first and possibly only post-rock crossover record, Sigur Rós have edged closer to actual pop while still maintaining their singular place amongst many consumers’ record collections: The band’s stamp of approval is pretty much the only way a lot of people are dealing with 10-minute songs or an invented language. It’s a tremendous example of a band that’s managed to own its lane while making it incrementally wider, and their consistently positive reception gives you the idea that the only way Sigur Rós could make a bad record is if they made one that was wholly unrecognizable as their own. MORE
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