Sigur Ros and their Gobbledigook

2008 is the year for reinvention (just ask Coldplay) and where traditional formulas would have been expected, we’re seeing band after band surprise us with something uniquely different from what we’ve come to expect.  Sigur Ros is no exception, and as their new album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (translated “with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly”) drops this month you can expect a departure from the post-rock genre they helped create.

Their first single Gobbledigook (available for download through Stereogum) is a great example of the new direction.  Exchanging ambient distortion and a string section for an acoustic guitar and pounding drums; it seems more of a nod to the American counter-culture of the 60′s than the orchestrated rises and falls that have come to represent their Icelandic roots.  And, although I’ve been partial to the surreal post-rock we’ve come to love from Sigur Ros; every band, like every person, has to face both the question of identity as well as the inevitable reinvention of their music — at least for one album.  

With more of a rock feel, the spirit of the new album may be summed up in the art-house Abercrombie ad that is Sigur Ros’ new video.  It’s stripped down music and stripped down people (literally), showing that there is a freedom in simplicity and an experience of joy in shedding our skin — something we would all do well to remember.

The new album drops June 24th.