Sigur Rós have just announced they are to followup last year’s chilling Valtari this summer, with Kveikur – an album being pitched as channeling the darker, more aggresive side of the band.
To prove it, they’ve released the video to new song Brennisteinn, opening with the kind of aggressively metallic drones and clatters that have rarely been heard since Ágætis byrjun and ( ). But there’s something new at the heart of Brennisteinn, nestled in amongst the juddering bursts of bass and increasingly gothic aesthetic the band are adopting. Coming soon after the band’s first lineup change since 1999, they’ve somehow managed to convert a smaller number of instrumentalists in to a more powerful, stark, clear cut sound.
For all Valtari’s successes, there was the hint that this was the sound of a band beginning to rest on their laurels slightly – with few surprises during the course of the record. If this followup is to continue with the sound of Brennisteinn – as other tracks previewed live would suggest – then this promises to be a treat.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8#!