[soundbites]

PublishEaring:
CDs reviewed by someone who bed a record store clerk and shook hands with a musician, but only once

By: Jesus
(pronounced Hay-sous, y’all!)

Sigur Rós
Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
XL, 2008
I love Sigur Rós for exactly two reasons: It relaxes me, and it hypnotizes small children. Their blend of instrumental rock and made-up languages has long been my choice to quiet noisy children and ease myself during long trips in the car. Though quite well known to most of Europe, Sigur Rós is not exactly threatening to knock Rhianna off the Billboard charts here in the States. They are the antithesis of Top 40 darlings, creating artful soundscapes and dramatic arrangements likely to confuse the average listener.

Their new album, Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ear We Play Endlessly), finds the band loosening up, lessening the elitist status and hopefully catapulting elf music to listeners everywhere. “Gobbledigook” opens the set and confirms the growing rumors: Sigur Rós have gone optimistic. Don’t call them sell-outs just yet. Throughout the album they’ve maintained their familiar sound, but now it has a healthy dose of unexpected cheer thrown in for good measure.

A big change in this record is the majority of the vocals are in Icelandic instead of Hopelandic, although unless listeners happen to speak Icelandic, this change is both irrelevant and unnoticed. The fact remains that Sigur Rós don’t rely on lyrics to make affecting music—focusing, instead, on composition and orchestration as a universal approach to being understood. The new outlook takes the Icelandic quartet on a celebratory route previously left vacant by a band better known for a haunting, ethereal sound. Gone are the distorted, meandering anthemic marches of Takk, replaced by a compelling departure into simplistic, straightforward key arrangements.

One slight qualm is with the closing track, “All Alright.” It’s a terrific track, but its use of English lyrics and vocals are a disappointing feature and fracture the otherwise pleasurable experience of simply being lost in sound. Still, both old fans and new listeners alike can find common ground on Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust. It succesfully combines everything wonderful about Sigur Rós, but puts them on Prozac and delights ears everywhere.

Wolf Parade
At Mount Zoomer
Sub Pop 2008
For those who thought the success of Wolf Parade’s first album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, was a fluke: Think again. Proving no victim to the sophomore slump, Wolf Parade drums out a second album that doesn’t simply answer critics—it flat-out wrestles them to the ground with aggressively upbeat mediocrity.

Once again, Wolf Parade find themselves sporting an album a little out of tune with the times and a devil-may-care attitude about it. Predictably, At Mount Zoomer lacks singles and turns out a few songs that linger a little too long. However, the scariest thing about talented musicians out of touch with current trends in music is that the end result is often borderline genius.

For what it’s worth, At Mount Zoomer is not exactly the brilliant offspring of talent and carelessness. Instead, a carefully plotted improvisation of unmatched drive and happenstance. Building off the success of their over-hyped debut, Wolf Parade seem too impressed with themselves to deliver an album able to match their ego. The disappointment sets in with the first track and escalates slowly with each cookie-cutter song thereafter.

Not everything about the record is bad—far from it. It’s just that between stellar tracks, like “Kissing the Beehive” and “They Grey Estates,” lies a forgettable mash-up of synth rock and electro new-wave. At Mount Zoomer may trumpet in a slower sound, but it doesn’t usher the energy that came with Apologies to the Queen Mary’s aggressiveness. As flawed as it may be, it’s still worth a listen—if only to remind listeners how much better their first album was.