Sigur Rós
Tower Theatre
Philadelphia, PA
September 10, 2005

Sigur Rós and their backup band, the all-girl string quartet Amina

Sigur Rós recently returned to the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia and this time I got a chance to see them. Sigur Rós is a fairly young band from Iceland with a very unique sound. Their music feels like it tells stories; it has a narrative arc much like a film score. This is ironic because you can't understand a word of the lyrics--they're sung in either Icelandic or the lead singer's own made-up language, Hopelandic.

Most of the set was drawn from the band's new album Takk, but they did play some old favorites off  Ágætis Byrjun and ( ). Yes, Sigur Rós is a little weird. Their music is strange and ethereal, but when I'm listening to Sigur Rós, I'm not thinking, wow, this is weird, I'm thinking, wow, this is beautiful. A lot of young artists incorporate new sounds and ideas into their music, but in my opinion Sigur Rós does it the best.

My favorite part of the show was when the band come onstage at the end and took their final bow. Everyone thought there was going to be another song, a finale, but that was it. The close of the show was cute, quick and happy, which is nothing like their music. Their songs tend to be at least five minutes long and usually really depressing. 

After the show, my friends and I all agreed that "our souls had been cleansed." It was true: seeing Sigur Rós was a spiritual event. It felt like I had done a couple hours of yoga. It was just a gorgeous performance by profoundly innovative artists. The Tower Theatre was a beautiful venue in which to see them though I felt it was a little too big for their intimate sound.