A fortnight ago I saw proof, as if it was needed, that the sound bite is God. A newspaper ran a street poll asking six people for a one-sentence response to the images coming out of New Orleans. The same overused adjectives kept coming up and I was left with the feeling that society has all but given up on complexity, subtlety and nuance.
To think we could somehow wrap up the human drama of a force five hurricane smashing into a city in a single sentence borders on the insane.
The media strips every debate and news story down to ugly mechanics and with that goes any sense of humans sharing humanity.
Don Watson said there could be no respect for truth without respect for the language. Come further. There can be no respect for humanity without humans striving for beauty and complexity - without humans taking more than 30 seconds to get their fill of news, sport and weather.
Sigur Ros are fine musicians creating astonishing music but they are doing something much more important in the process.
From the outset of Takk, the Icelandic outfit's fifth album, they force you to sit, listen and concentrate. Not only because their songs are long but because their songs are good. Sigur Ros know what is right and worthy and they fully explore it on Takk. They have been so successful because people are searching for more than a pop hook in an increasingly dislocated and aching world.
Takk, Icelandic for thanks, delivers a brilliant uppercut to any thought that pop is all-powerful and all knowledgeable. Saeglopur is the brightest moment. The song fuses the righteous fury of the ignored with their hope. A warm piano opens the song but it's the rhythm, the rhythm of pulsating drums and rumbling bass that give the song such remarkable power.
The world is not a cold, dead place and there is a future but we need to change. Listening to Sigur Ros is one fine place to start.
4/4
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2005Reviewed by Paul DeanIcelandic group Sigur Ros' new album sets forth new boundaries for the group who is often described as "enigmatic" and "melodic." Takk is the follow up to the ( ) album and is sung in Icelandic, a first, as the band usually sings in their made up language of "Hopelandic." The album begins with a build up of bass and keyboard leading straight into the single "Glosoli," which builds up with a quiet…Similar sounding releases
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