About

Earlier this year, the pretty but middling Inni slinked by as a reminder that, as beautiful as Sigur Rós can sound live, a concert recording isn’t equipped to deliver the emotional resonance inherent to the Icelandic quartet’s chilly, symphonic post-rock. Sigur Rós is essentially a group of studio musicians, after all—masters of sound and atmosphere confined within the insular spaces of headphones. And so it comes as no surprise that the band has re-embraced that strength with their sixth studio album, Valtari. Teeming with crescendoed melodies, children’s choirs, and other symphonic flourishes, the album serves as Sigur Rós’s full-fledged reunion with the ethereal sound that made them famous.