Sigur Rós - ÁTTA (2023)

Dan:

After struggling through Sigur Rós's Kveikur album (2013), I concluded that the band was moving past the songcraft that was so powerful on Ágætis Byrjun, Valtari and others. They then appeared to have disbanded. The last ten years of world history have been eventful ones, to say the least, so I did not know that I missed them until ÁTTA arrived unexpectedly earlier this year. I quickly downloaded the hi rez version hoping that some of their earlier magic had been restored.

ÁTTA is the album I hoped for. It builds upon the same formula of long drone-like passages with layers of sound, the mysterious vocals supplied by Jónsi, and great sound engineering. Jónsi (guitar and voice), Kjartan Sveinsson (keyboards) and Georg Hólm (bass) comprise the core trio, but each song is enhanced by a range of instrumental voices. We hear guest artists playing violin, cello, trombone, trumpet, vibes, hurdy gurdy, and additional percussion. This beautifully opens up the sound stage making for a spacious aural experience.

ÁTTA is a strikingly gentle album, perhaps due to the greater worldliness of the band members as well as their core fan base. It will compensate for the stresses of life in the dangerous 2020s while sacrificing nothing in terms of ideas and musicianship. I could not have imagined a better 10-year reunion for Sigur Rós. 

Steve:

It had admittedly been years since I last heard a new Sigur Rós album that truly impressed me, so my expectations were not particularly high for this new effort. After about 3 listens, though, ÁTTA is honestly one of my favorite albums they've done. I liken it to 2012's Valtari in that it hovers quietly in near-ambient territory for much of its running time, drawing its beauty from understated vocals and instrumentation, and augmented with colorful albeit subtle string orchestration.

Although Sigur Rós have done some upbeat, happy music in the past (Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is perhaps the best example), most of their music resides in the range bordered by "contented, resigned sigh" on one end and "questioning soul crying to the heavens" on the other. Tellingly, my favorite Sigur Rós album, ( ) (Untitled) hits both of those extremes. The mood on ÁTTA is calm yet not necessarily content; melancholic yet hopeful; and sad while hopefully seeing beyond the sadness. It's a pleasurable listen, and its richness of sound and modest, unpretentious artistry make this return all I could have hoped for from this band in 2023.