A Buzz In Our Ears

News has been circulating today that everyone's favorite avant-garde Icelandic post-rock band, Sigur Rós, is finally back with new material! After the release of last year's compilation album, Hvarf-Heim, the band is back at it with their first full-length record in nearly three years. The album, out June 24th in America, will be called með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (which literally translates into English as "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly") and will apparently feature the most visually daring album art since Pulp's, This Is Harcore. The sudden announcement of a rather eminent album release seems to be the industry norm these days (following in the footsteps of The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkeley, and soon to be Beck) and is apparently the most effective way for established artists like Sigur Rós to combat album leakage. Funky album art and long-winded titles aside, the band breaks new ground with record's first single, "Gobbledigook". Straying away from their patented ethereal sound, the three minute tune is uncharacteristically brief, upbeat, and driven by a fast acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, I don't speak Icelandic so lord knows what this song is all about, but hey it works. Supposedly, the band treads new water on the new album by experimenting with English vocals on one of the tracks. This announcement of this album sort of blindsided me (in a good way), but proves that the summer is looking to have a pretty stacked release lineup. "Gobbledigook" can be downloaded for free now via Stereogum. Sigur Rós will be playing only a handful of North American shows this summer, so if you are fortunate enough to get tickets, I highly recommend checking these guys out at these locations:

6/05 Guadalajara, MEX @ Teatro Degollado
6/07 Tepoztlan, MEX @ Festival La Colmena
6/08 Tijuana, MEX @ Planeta Tijuana
6/11 - Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater
6/12 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
6/14 - Manchester, TN @ (Bonnaroo)
6/16 - New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom