Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602498845233
Label: Geffen Records
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Geffen Records
Release Date: 2005-09-13
Studio: Geffen Records
MPN: 000534502

Just when this Icelandic crew seemed stuck in loud/soft/loud/ soft rut a la Mogwai or Godspeed You Black Emperor, they release their most beguiling, subtle and beautiful album yet. This album, allegedly the group's first sung in Icelandic rather than their own made-up "Hopelandic" (not that this listener could tell the difference) is relentlessly joyous, unaffectedly rad and inventive but never just for its own sake. Strings hold an ever more prominent place in the music, and this is a good thing. Songs unfold slowly as usual, but they take unexpected turns as often as not. The brilliant "Glósóli" burbles with as much melodic invention and anything by their fellow Icelanders Mum. Takk is a delight from start to finish, managing to be both their most accessible and experimental album yet. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Rating:
Summary: Like starving alley cats attempting to yodel
Comment: I've been recommended this band by more sources than I can count, based on my deep affection toward Radiohead, Bjork, and others of the experimental variety. I had already heard the somewhat overdone but unquestionably dramatic "Saeglopur," and despite some decidedly odd vocals, I liked it. My hope was that these on-the-edge-of-hearing vocals might mellow out in some slightly more earthly tracks. No such luck.

Doubtless all those who have given this rave 5-star reviews will think this reviewer biased and close-minded. Thankfully, this is not the case. As a DJ and as an avid explorer of the experimental, I love dipping my I-pod into the sea of the unknown, finding bands none of my friends have even heard of and slowly expanding my diverse collection. Sigur Ros will not make that collection, unless (and please tell me if this is the case) their other albums are far more grounded than this free-floating entity. Perhaps I'll wait for the band members' balls to drop, or perhaps they will all merge into one single Icelandic talent, otherwise known as Bjork (who, despite some very off-the-wall vocals, can, in fact, sing). Until then, my more masculine side craves something with some soul and some bravado. Check please.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: ....Takk
Comment: This record is one of the most amazing and extraordinary things that happened in music in the last years. There are no words to describe it. Just BUY it. From minute 1 until the end, it is perfect.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wekest of the 4 SR CDs I own
Comment: Just didn't work for me. I've given it 50 listens over the last couple of years, but get more and more ho-hum as I proceed. Repetitive (well, yeah, what's new) but boringly and tritely so. With 60% of the reviewers giving this one 5 stars, far be it from me to attempt to dissuade anyone, but Ágætis Byrjun is so far above this that Takk sounds as if it was created by some wannabe group. This is a remote #4 in my list of Sigur Ros CDs.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Solid Ethereal Sound
Comment: Solid ethereal sound. I got interested on Sigur Ros after hearing some of there music on the net. You definitely need to listen to this band, because there is just nothing out there like them.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not much to say that hasn't been said, but...
Comment: The first time I put this disc in the player, I was driving home after work (I purchased this album on my lunch break). I had no idea what was in store for me.

The climax of Glosoli brought me to tears.

It was one of the most beautiful pieces of music I'd ever heard, and a mix of the intensity of the playing and the brilliance of the arrangement was simply too much for me to handle -- I couldn't help but cry.

It was the first time a song outside of the classical music realm actually made me cry because of the music alone -- certain lyrics have been known to affect me that way emotionally, but not a raw musical performance by a traditional guitar, bass, keys, drums band.

As I continued to listen to the entire disc, I discovered that it was one of the most amazingly performed, musically diverse and well produced albums ever created. And I hold that opinion to this very day.

It's essential.

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