Sigur Ros - Takk...

The last Sigur Ros release Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do didn't leave many ideas to go on as for what direction the band's latest album Takk... would take, with the four tracks featured on the EP being instrumental affairs, commisioned solely for the use in a ballet theatre performance. Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do was based around twinkling electronica, percussive instruments made from ballet shoes, pianos and music-box sounds, which left the whole thing minimalist and unlike anything they had created before.

Fans expecting a more electronica influenced LP will be pleased (or displeased depending on your reaction to the EP), that Takk... sees Sigur Ros making a return to form, engulfing their epic songs in huge sweeping orchestral sounds and cavernous production. The shoe-gazing, classical, post rock, drone crossover the band have crafted into their own unique blend, is in full presence and has never sounded so vast.

Amidst the ethereal vocals, heavenly instrumentation and warm simple melody, comes a glossy commercial sound which should take Sigur Ros even further into the mainstream. While parts speak volumes from the fierce crescendos of guitar effects, the rest is a batch of intimate and approachable songs which should be seen as incredibly accessible. Most of the songs are short, precise and focused, seeing the Icelandic four piece steering clear of their sprawling and often overblown numbers.

Drums patter as though being played miles in the distance, string sections and horns add both melancholy and uplifting euphoric emotions in equal measure, vocals are indistuingishable and sping-tingling. In other words, this is classic Sigur Ros doing what they do best, only doing it far greater and more accomplished than ever.