Sydney, AU. (Top40 Charts/ EMI MUSIC Australia) -
Sigur Ros will be releasing their fifth album, 'Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust' (English translation: With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), on June 28th, 2008 on EMI Records. The first song from the album, entitled 'Gobbledigook', will be unveiled with a world exclusive first play on
Radio 1 tonight (May 27th) by Zane Lowe. The track is now available worldwide for free download, via www.sigurros.com.
A pre-sale for the album will begin on www.sigurros.com on June 2nd and anyone who pre-orders will then be able to access a stream of the full album from June 9th. A special deluxe edition of the album to be released later in the year, featuring a 'Making Of...' book, a film, and more, will also be available to pre-order on the band's website as of June 2nd, in addition to a plethora of Sigur Rosgoodies - exclusive clips, information on tickets for upcoming shows throughout the year etc. - which will be available to those who sign up for the mailing list on www.sigurros.com.
With A Buzz... was co-produced by the band and renowned producer Flood and was recorded in New York City (at Sear Sound Studios), London (at Assault and Battery Studios and Abbey Road), Reykjavik (at Alafoss, the band's studio, as well as a church in Reykjavik) and Havana, Cuba. Whereas Sigur Ros' last release - the critically-acclaimed tour film Heima, chronicling their free tour throughout Iceland - took the band to their homeland, their newest creation, With A Buzz..., is the first album in the band's career to be made outside of Iceland. It is also their first album to feature vocalist Jon "Jonsi" Thor Birgisson's vocals in English on one track (the remainder are sung in Icelandic).
Inspired by the unfettered feeling of the acoustic performances filmed during Heima, Sigur Ros decided to adopt a looser approach in the writing and creation of their brilliant fifth album. The material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after completion. The album glows with the perfect imperfection of live takes, the sounds of fingers playing guitar strings, cracked notes, and a stark, upfront presence not found in previous Sigur Ros recordings, moving away from the reverb-induced guitar sounds of old to something altogether more fragile and affecting. It also contains some of the most joyous music the band has ever recorded.
First song 'Gobbledigook' sets the tone for With A Buzz... with its shifting acoustic guitars, playful vocals, time signature shifts and swirling percussion, while 'Inni mer syngur vitleysingur' ('Within me a lunatic sings') sparkles as one of the most anthemic songs Sigur Ros have ever written. 'Festival' is epic in its elation and scope, 'Illgresi' ('Weeds') features one of Jonsi's finest vocal melodies over a lone acoustic guitar, and 'Ara batur' ('Row boat') is the single largest musical undertaking in the band's career, as it was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boy's Choir, a total of 90 people playing at the same time. The band also utilized the talents of their string-quartet friends Amiina, as well as a five-piece brass section on certain tracks, in addition to introducing the Mellotron into their writing/recording process for the first time on this album, specifically on one of the most tender and beautiful songs on the record, 'Fljotavik'.
The spirit of With A Buzz... is best captured by the album's stunning artwork, contributed by acclaimed visual artist Ryan McGinley. McGinley first met the band when he photographed Jonsi six years ago; the album cover was taken from a flyer for McGinley's most recent exhibit, I Know Where The Summer Goes, which happened to find its way into Jonsi's inbox just as the band was deciding on how to best visually represent their new collection of songs. The result is a perfect synergy of the aural and the visual.
The track listing for 'Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust' is...
1. Gobbledigook
2. Inni mer syngur vitleysingur
3. Godan daginn
4. Vid spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Med sud i eyrum
7. Ara batur
8. Illgresi
9. Fljotavik
10. Straumnes
11. All alright
Sigur Ros will be playing shows all over the globe through out the summer and autumn performing material from With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly, including their first ever UK festival headline appearance at Latitude Festival on July 19th.
Aug 1 - Festival Hall, Melbourne, VIC
Aug 2 - Horden Pavillion, Sydney, NSW
Aug 3 - Splendour In The Grass, Byron Bay, NSW
Sigur Ros - 'Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust' - out June 28, 2008
