Jonsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

A couple of weeks ago I bought this album, just as it came out. I have been a big fan of Sigur Ros since I first came across their music a few years ago in Wire magazine. I love Wire magazine – every issue introduces you to heaps of bands and musicians you will never have heard of. They push the musical boundaries (sometimes too far, but that is the point!) Anyway, after hearing a track by the band on a compilation CD given away with the magazine I set off to explore their music. This was around the time of their untitled album known as () which I bought and thought was the most original music I had heard in years. So why am I telling you all this? Well, having continued to follow their music and their ascent to wider fame I was very interested when this new album came out. Jonsi is the lead singer in Sigur Ros and Alex is his partner. It’s a deeply ambient album. On first listen I was struck by the subtlety of the music – there’s immense depth but it is masked within a deeper wash. There are tracks that are very reminiscent of the work of Brian Eno – but, whereas Eno uses repetition and mechanistic approaches, this music has a deeper layer of emotion.

 After many listens now, I sat down last night to listen to the album again – but this time through headphones. It was a revelation. There is so much going on in each track which is simply lost to the room when listening with speakers. It opens up a whole different perspective to the music. Each track creates a stunning soundscape which depicts a combination of melody (just, as far as is possible in the domain of ambient), rhythm and a backdrop of found sounds which prompt visual imagery in the listener. The use of children’s choir on a couple of the tracks is breath-taking.

I know it is tempting to stop liking a band when they become so popular that they can be heard behind countless trailers on the BBC, but I am still in love with the music of Sigur Ros, and this album shows that the band members are still pushing the boundaries and prepared to explore new challenges.