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The strange, beautiful music of Sigur Rós manages to be both hermetic and universal at once. At times it seems almost as alien as whalesong, and yet it's so elemental that it's hard to think of another band's music that elicits such a pure, almost primal emotional response.
The band eschews formal structure for their songs, letting them undulate organically, with a symphonic dynamic range, from barely audible to roaring, often within a single song—for instance, when the gliding cetacean heft of "Glósóli" breaks the surface and soars thunderously before fading to its music-box conclusion. The album rides on waves of intensity, from the almost childlike whimsy of "Sé Lest" to the crashing grandeur of "Sæglópur" to the subtle restraint of "Andvari" to the relatively unadorned closing track "Heysátan." Their sonic world is built from distinctive sounds like throbbing harmonic basslines, electronically-manipulated sound fragments, ominously pounding drums, serrated bowed guitar shot through with echo and distortion, and of course the falsetto vocals that swoop, soar, and flutter like the flock of birds depicted on the interior of the beautiful embossed book-style packaging. To American ears it won't make a lot of difference that the lyrics are now in the band's native Icelandic rather than the made-up language of prior releases (although I might hear some "hallelujahs" in "Sæglópur"); those androgynous vocals still sound just as otherworldly. Listeners will find plenty of familiar, earth-bound sounds as well, though: string and horn sections, acoustic and electric pianos, bells...there's even an oom-pah section that floats through "Sé Lest." The glorious "Hoppípola" might be the closest Sigur Rós comes to a "pop" song (with the incredible "Gong" a possible runner-up), and the 10-minute "Milanó" is some of their most conventional-sounding music yet (which isn't to say it isn't still wonderful).
Takk... is an exquisite and astonishing work of art, fascinating, moving, inscrutable, uplifting, and completely immersive. At once both voluminously expansive and intimately interior, it's music that seems to spring from someplace subconscious and envelops you in its dreamlike world. (mike.01.06)
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