Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim Review

There is a Simpsons episode in which Montgomery Burns comes clean as to the fate of Smithers' father, who years before died in an "accident" at the power plant, not at the hands of suspect Burns (or a tribe of savage women, for that matter). As he loads an old reel onto a film projector, Burns proclaims "if you see one film this year that proves my innocence, make it this one." Let me co-opt that sentiment for the new Sigur Rós compilation Hvarf/Heim: if you are to own one record that captures the raison d'etre of this Icelandic powerhouse, make it this one. This essential disc proficiently presents the forlorn beauty and fierce imagination of the volcanic isle's quintessential post-millennia band....full text OK, pay attention, for this may become complicated. Sigur Rós are about to release a DVD entitled Heima, a live film-cum-documentary, featuring many of the Icelandic band's most loved tracks. Yet Hvarf-Heim is not a soundtrack to Heima, instead being a 'companion record' of rarities not on the film and re-recordings of old tracks - some of which, erm, are on the film. Got all that?...full text Hvarf and Heim would fit—snugly, but still—on one disc, but it makes perfect sense that Sigur Rós would split them, because the two EPs represent the farthest reaches of the band's relatively narrow musical spectrum. (That isn't an insult—the spectrum itself is generally incredible.) Hvarf features old music re-imagined: Its title means "disappeared," and it offers new looks at songs largely lost to the Icelandic band's history. The three tracks that haven't been released before in any form ("Salka," "Hljómalind," and "Í Gær") lean toward the metallic end of Sigur's bombastic soundscapes, and the two remakes from the band's overlooked debut album, Von (the title track and "Hafsól") absolutely crush the originals in scope, especially the latter, which stretches to nearly 10 glorious minutes....full text