Icelandic four piece Sigur Ros specialise in what could be best described as post-rock. While using musical elements found in traditional popular rock bands such as guitar and drums, they add both a classical and minimalist element to their intepretation of music. The result is music that can take the body and mind of the listener out of themselves. By that, the band are capable of creating truly incredible, ethereal, almost otherworldly sounds and images in the mind.
Inni is a 2CD/DVD package that has been released during the band’s self-imposed hiatus. The two-CD musical set is the majority of a concert from a concert a few years ago. Barring one omission, this is a complete live concert that runs for nearly two hours. It gives the listener, both causal and die hard fan of the band, a very intimate and close up listen and feel for Sigur Ros as a live entity.
The tracks performed during this concert are a strong cross section of the band’s five albums to date. Tracks such as “Svefn-G-Englar” and “”Glosoli”, while not recognizable by name, would be the most familiar to most listeners, having featured in a number of television programs and films. This is music that transcends mere trivialities such as language. Sigur Ros are a band one listens to on an emotional level rather than an intellectual one. The four musicians in the band, especially lead vocalist Jonsi, with his highly striking falsetto, have played together for years and understand each other beautifully on a musical level. Inni is a great introduction for those that have been fascinated and intrigued by this remarkable Icelandic four piece.
Other track highlights on the double CD include a haunting version of “E-Bow”, “Hoppippola”, “”All Alright”, “Festival” and a great newtrack, “Hippulagid”
The DVD that accompanies this release is a live concert directred by the celebrated Vincent Morrisett, best known for directing The Arcade Fire’s “Mirror Noir”. This concert film follows on from “Heima”, their 2007 documentary about the band in touring mode. Inni captures the band live, but not in a way one would expect. The film consists of highly impressionistic and grainy footage, filmed largely from cameras intimately placed on stage and on the band’s instruments. The result walks a fine line between intimate and pretentious. Interspersed between the nine songs of the concert film, most of which are also presented on the double live CD, are very candid moments of the band throughout their career, such as their appearance on Japanese television, describing their music as ‘serious heavy metal’!
This package is a must for hardcore Sigur Ros fans, especially for the concert double CD, which captures the band at their most intimate.
– Neil Evans
