INNI

Inni is Sigur Ros' first live album and second live DVD. Like Heima before it, it would be inaccurate to call Inni a "concert DVD". They both are minimalistic and introspective films that weave the Sigur Ros' music with their surroundings; however, the similarities stop there. Heima is a more optimistic film, focussing on the band's home country with all its beautiful scenery and people, while Inni shows a more thoughtful and mysterious side to the band. It is shot in black and white with an array of techniques to distort and mystify the footage. However, the footage is not aimless in its experimentation. It perfectly compliments the music and is even emotionally moving in itself.

There is really no need to comment on the music but to say that it is performed with incredible passion and is truly awe-inspiring. The music is generally faithful to the albums, but is perhaps slightly more experimental at points. As I watch Sigur Ros play, I still wonder how they can create such powerful, ethereal music with ordinary instruments.

There are quite a few formats the the album has been released on, but all include the DVD Inni and two live CDs. The special edition which I bought is an exceptional special edition package, and I'll talk about the additional contents it includes. It has the standard DVD and CD discs (it includes both the PAL and NTSC formats) along with a Blu-Ray of the film and a beautifully engraved one-sided 45 of a new song. On the DVDs it also has a short film called Klippa which depicts the cutting process for the band's costumes (more on that in a minute). For artwork, the box also includes stills from the movie of each of the band members as well as several sheets of light-sensitive paper and instructions. You can put anything flat (a leaf, etc) on the the paper, and place it in the sunlight then follow the instructions to develop it and create your own image. There is a website included to upload them to, and there will be an online gallery of everyone's images. There is also an "Inni" silver pin included. Back to the clothes cutting, each box contains a numbered envelope with square pieces of the fabric from the band's actual costumes worn during the filming. This obviously only appeals hard-core fans, but it's a creative concept so that each special edition will be unique.

Inni is a masterpiece both musically and visually, and I highly recommend it to any prog fan who likes post-rock or simply enjoys introspective and artistic films.

Rating: 9/10