With excitement for their upcoming tour steadily building, Icelandic natives Sigur Ros dropped two bombshells on their unsuspecting fans. I suppose you could call the news bittersweet, the first part being that Kjartan Sveinsson, who played keyboardist and an array of other instruments, has decided to permanently end his involvement with the band follow his own composing ventures. While this news marks the loss of an integral member of the group, all involved insist his departure is on good terms.
Of course there is that saying about closing doors and opening windows and so, with the bad, there also comes some really great goodness. Namely, the band announced, roughly six months after this summer’s “Valtari” they are already working hard on yet anther release. Here is where things get a bit weird however, while the ambient-rockers tend to stick to, well, ambience, subtlety and lush soundscapes, they have promised their upcoming album will be decidedly more aggressive. Of course, with a band like Sigur Ros, calling their next album “more aggressive” is typically like saying a puppy is more adorable than a kitten; It’s undeniably true, even if only in the slightest sense. I’ll admit I was the first to write off this somewhat cliché statement about albums-in-progress that is until they release this clip. It turns out Jonsi and company are not messing around and, if this little teasers serves as adequate indication, their next exploit may very well be the heaviest thing the group has lent their talents to, and most certainly a complete 180 from “Valtari.”
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