Sigur Ros

Interesting artwork from the new Sigur Ros LP.

Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

Now there's a name to conjure with. Sigur Ros, Iceland's finest exports since bonkers Bjork and, er, 1980's jazz-funkers Mezzoforte (ask your parents, watch 'em blush), return with their snappily named fifth album Meo Suo i Eyrum Vio Spilum Endaluast. Or 'With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly' as it apparently translates.

Sigur Ros have carved out a niche producing the sort of eclectic symphonies that make critics whimper with delight, navel-gazing musos smile at the pleasant incomprehensibility and North London dinner parties go with a bang.

They've also soundtracked endless Match of the Day compilations and mobile phone ads, but that's not important right now. The implication is that this album is going to be their commercial breakthrough.

Sonically, it could be: it's certainly lighter and more accessible than their previous electronic musings. Indeed, you could call it more Mezzoforte than Bjork but that would probably be a little facile... The only possible barrier to commercial success then is that title. 'Have you got Myleene Sooty i Eerie Bio Spillage... oh bugger it, I'll have the Weller album instead.'

As with all of their materal, Meo etc is astonishingly beautiful, a collection of fragile soundscapes probably already earmarked by Gary Lineker and Nokia.

The addition of a string quartet and brass section adds an impressive depth to the tracks, and Ara Batur (track seven) also benefits from the slightly unlikely addition of the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boys Choir. Will it convert a new audience though? Unlikely.

They say: 'the lyrics sound, as ever, utterly mysterious, and like the best glossolalia, this music is open to a variety of interpretations.' Tim Nelson, BBC

We say: Lovely, relaxing... and a little bit boring.

Best track: The appropriately named Gobbledigook, the orchestral delights of Ara Batur

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