Live Review: Sigur Rós

There really couldn’t be any better welcome to a stadium-sized Sigur Rós show than for them to be playing the Cocteau Twins’ Carolyn’s Finger as we walk through the lobby. We find our seats and wait expectantly for the band while an intense hypnotic drone buzzes in the air. Already this doesn’t feel like the kind of gig we would expect to see at a large stadium, but this typifies the achievement of Sigur Rós’ 25-year career. Despite their idiosyncratic sound and experimental approach to making music, the outfit’s expansive, dreamy vibe has conquered the hearts and minds packed into the Margaret Court Arena, and indeed arenas the world over. It’s hard to pin down the exact demographic that Sigur Rós attracts but old and young, goths and geeks and more are all here to revel in the epic ambiences the band delivers tonight.

The dreamy Vaka starts the show before drifting into Fyrsta and Samskeyti. It’s a mellow start to the first half of the gig which moves at a slow, hypnotic and dreamy pace. Jónsi Birgisson’s vocals, his effortless falsetto, sits at the heart of the mix and quivers with emotion. There is childlike innocence in his voice that drifts through idyllic lullabies. At times he asks us to worship in his band’s cathedral of sound as his vocals turn hymnal and, at other times, he sounds lost while being tossed about on the crest of a storm comprised of dissonant industrial noise. A natural talent, it’s amazing just how effortless Birgisson makes his work look. Bowing his guitar like a cello, Birgisson produces heavy dissonant and distorted tones that wash up in the mix as a thick gluggy noise with a deep sense of danger and foreboding. Even at their loudest Sigur Rós never alienate with harsh tones. Rather they produce an epic elemental noise that feels more like an awe-inspiring force of nature. The effect is to draw us in and immerse us in their mysterious universe of sound which overflows with wonder and emotion.

Sigur Rós play with deep concentration and complete focus. As a stripped back three piece with a touring drummer there is a more considered and serious feel to the tunes they are playing. Svefn‐g-englar, for instance, feels deeper and darker than ever before. Revelling in bittersweet memories and a certain nostalgia for the past tracks like Heysátan delivers emotions drawn from experience than just letting us bathe in shimmering ambiences that just have an easy but superficial feel-good vibe. They discreetly slip in unreleased tunes Gold 2 and Gold 4 into tonight’s set list.

After a short interval they start the second half of the show with a mesmerising version of Glósóli which unfurls with all the triumphant majesty that the band can muster. The second half of the show shifts away from the intimate and introspective vibes of the first to deliver lighter more joyous notes. The long, glorious ascent to the crescendo of Sæglópur is like climbing a mountain to survey the glorious views it has to offer. Throughout the night Kjartan Sveinsson matches Birgisson’s brilliance with the breathtakingly beautiful piano, organ and synthesised string arrangements that are a huge part of the bands overall sound. Georg Hólm’s bass provides an amazingly deep rumble to the proceedings that adds a hefty weight to the bottom end of the mix. The second half of the show tends to ride the highs and lows of crashingly clangourous crescendos. After almost three hours they bring the night down with the intense adrenaline rush of Popplagið. No encore but they return to the stage to take a bow and humbly applaud the audience.

The crafted perfection of tonight’s show demonstrates Sigur Rós’ ability to deliver an extraordinary musical experience that takes listeners on a wild joy ride of sound and emotion.