Sigur Rós Hard at Work on Fourth Album
PREEMPTIVE STRIKE! Ice golems descend upon studio; Jónsi retaliates, receives 430 XP, rune of gaiety

Mïlés Bårgèr reports:
According to Sigur Rós' official website, the Icelandic ambient pop band have recently wandered back into their mythical studio to record a follow-up of the full-length nature to their wonderfully ambiguous 2002 release, ( ). The album is expected to be released in spring 2005, to be followed by a tour of Europe, North America, and perhaps some other Sigur Rós-friendly parts of the world. Possible titles include any unpronounceable shapes that do not resemble a toilet seat.

The album is being recorded at the band's own studio, Sundlaugin. The space, converted from a swimming pool built in the 1930s (we have no answer for you, sorry), was most recently the site of recording for Jimmy LaValle's In a Safe Place, just released last week on Sub Pop under his longtime alias The Album Leaf-- which, incidentally, features a prominent guest spot from Sigur frontman Jónsi Thor Birgisson on "Over the Pond".

Approximately a 15-minute drive from the Reykjavik centrum, the studio features a newly purchased Otari 24 channel analog tape machine, making it capable of "all-analogue" recording techniques which will offer crystalline clarity to the girlsongs emanating from deep within Jónsi's indestructible larynx, without involving any dirty computers (except the ones used in the digital transfer but what th' fuck ever).

The band's reps are being tight-lipped about the new record-- presumably because they probably haven't flown to Iceland to hear the material yet-- but we know of someone who has. Music journalist Bart Cameron has hinted at the album's new sound in a recent article for Reykjavik Grapevine (although, admittedly, the name of the publication does somewhat bring to question the paper's legitimacy). Cameron reportedly visited the studio last week, where, in addition to interviewing the band, he was allowed to sit in on a recording session. In the article, he likens the sound of one song to that of Belle & Sebastian's newest album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, citing it as being "crystal clear, complex and hypermelodic," and calls another "powerhouse English tea time dream rock." Hired!

Finally, Sigur Rós have been keeping busy busy busy with film scoring projects projects projects (apologies-- it's all this cave echo): Last year saw the release of their score for the documentary film Hlemmur. Since then, band member Kjartan Sveinsson has soundtracked an upcoming short titled Síðsti Barinn ("The Last Pub"), while the entire band has regrouped to compose music to accompany a short film entitled The Loch Ness Kelpie. The film is a 12½-minute animated piece, developed by Scotland's Red Kite Animation and directed by Iain Gardner, chronicling a young boy's quest to vanquish the famed Kelpie. Gardner reportedly traveled to Iceland to work with the band on the original score. The Loch Ness Kelpie will be screening at the Edinburgh Film Festival this August, but if your frequent flier miles aren't quite there yet, you can check out a one-minute preview of the film on Sigur Rós' website.