( )

The first time I put on Svigaplatan or the Parenthesis Album ( ) i was doing some much needed housekeeping and not fully focusing on the music. It was having none of it. It punished me by keeping me from getting into it. I realized my error in playing such intricate and slowly unfolding post-rock music while not fully focusing on it and revisited this album. The difference was that this time my mind was clear. My attention was focused and my expectations were nonexistent. Wow! Blown away I was. Transported to another musical universe, I accepted the calm, placid call of the Icelandic siren who whisked me away into the sonicscape for a peaceful dreamy experience with occasional volcanic outbursts unlike no other.

Although it's hard to detect many differences between ( ) and "Ágætis byrjun" when trying to compare them, it is this one that blows me away more. It continues the fluid flow of the musical feel as the spacey post-rock blooms at an unhurried leisurely pace that makes me think of a progressive variety of dream pop much like the Cocteau Twins may have done had they continued the sound of the album "Victorialand" and ran away with the possibilities. As stated by others, the songs are of the perfect running time. They realize their potential and accept their limits but aren't afraid to let them live out their full lives. I now am a bona fide SIGUR ROS fan and will certainly hear (more)