ARTIST: Sigur Ros
TITLE: Takk
LABEL: Geffen
GENRE: Rock
BITRATE: 211kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 05min total
RELEASE DATE: 2005-09-13
RIP DATE: 2005-09-07
Track List
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01. Takk 1:57
02. Glosoli 6:16
03. Hoppipolla 4:28
04. Mea Bloanasir 2:17
05. Se Lest 8:40
06. Seaglopur 7:39
07. Milano 10:25
08. Gong 5:33
09. Andvari 6:40
10. Svo Hljott 7:24
11. Heysatan 4:10
Release Notes:
Hi, the other one was a webrip.
Hype has surrounded Sigur Ros more or less since the release of their
critically-acclaimed second record and stateside debut in 1999. Not long
after its release, the New York Times magazine featured a huge spread on
Iceland's "next big thing." It was the type of piece that almost
guaranteed anyone hipster cred. for owning one of their records.
While that second record mostly lived up to the hype and provided a key
cinematic moment in the movie Vanilla Sky, the pretentiously anonymous
parenthesis album that followed seemed to take a lot of the edge off.
Sure, it was a good record - Untitled 4 and Untitled 5 are great - but
there was a whole lot on it to challenge the listener or suggest that
Iceland's favorite sons had much of a statement to make that would have
any genuine lasting power. All this to say, I still soaked it up and
thoroughly enjoyed two shows in support of the record in Philadelphia
and Coney Island.
Still, it's hard not to think that the group's greatest accomplishment
during this period was on The Album Leaf's stellar "In A Safe Place"
record - recorded at Sigur Ros' studio and features some heavenly
contributions from the band.
It only takes a few listens to recognize that "Takk" is everything that
parenthesis album wasn't - a progressive, epic masterpiece.
The most noticeable addition to the equation is the use of
orchestration, in particular horns that take tracks like "Milano" and
"Hoppipolla" to incredible places.
As customary with Sigur Ros, the mixture of English and Icelandic
sounding words sung by vocalist Jon Thor Birgisson provide an imaginary
setting for songs that speak as much to the eardrums as they do to the
heart and soul. Is he singing Hallelujah? Did he just say no softer
heart could hear? It's likely negative on both of my personal lyrical
interpretations, but that's the beauty of the language and a vocal
style that is itself an additional instrument in the dreamy
soundscape.
On "Hoppipolla", an anthemic number with a pretty piano intro that is
sure to find its way into some motion picture soundtrack, a mix of
vocal stylings provide spectacular transition as the orchestration
sweeps the listener away in peaks and valleys of layered beauty.
"Sµgl≤pur" displays Sigur Ros in full rock glory with a wall of noise
that disperses into a tender blend of vocal and keyboard. A climatic
moment in the record, the song provides an edge to an album that seems
to possess all of the makings of an album deserving of hype. The
question will be whether critics, fans and music lovers will agree.