Record Club:
WEEK 339 — July 27-August 2, 2025
Valtari
by Sigur Rós
LISTEN:
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PICKED BY VOTE
LOSING ALBUMS: Bismallah by Peter Cat Recording Co. (bottom row, second to right); The Lemon of Pink by the Books (bottom row, second to left); Magnolia by the Pineapple Thief (top row, far right); Spaces by Nils Frahm (top row, far left); Yours Conditionally by Tennis (top row, second to right). The album on the bottom row, far right is The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd, and that was already included in another poll before Gloria sent me this pic (it ultimately lost to The Doors, we'll get to that in a couple weeks). The album on the top row, second to left is In the Aeroplane over the Sea, and since it is one of the greatest albums of all time and has thus been written about many times on this blog, it is ineligible for Record Club coverage.
GLORIA'S COMMENTS: "I love Sigur Rós. I've seen them live four times and would happily see them again. However, this probably isn't the album I would have chosen to introduce them to anyone unfamiliar with the band or with post-rock in general. But that's okay! It's what PoYB poll decided, and I'm happy that I finally get to listen to a Record Club album on vinyl, haha.
Also, all the albums on my wall have been switched out since the original poll. I'll attach a photo if anyone is interested to see what's on rotation here for the summer. Have a beautiful week! Happy listening!"
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ALBUM DETAILS
GENRE: Ambient, post-rock, ambient pop, dream pop, ambient pop, minimalism
RELEASED: May 28, 2012
LENGTH: 54:36
TRACKLIST:
- Ég anda
- Ekki múkk
- Varúð
- Rembihnútur
- Dauðalogn
- Varðeldur
- Valtari
- Fjögur píanó
LYRICS: Genius.com, and hopefully your browser can auto-translate
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ARTIST DETAILS
PRONOUNCE: "see-goor rose"
HOW TO MAKE THE ó: Alt+0243
PRONOUNS: The three current members each prefer he/him/his
HOW TO MAKE THE ó: Alt+0243
PRONOUNS: The three current members each prefer he/him/his
ABOUT: Sigur Rós formed in 1994 in Reykjavík, Iceland. The band currently consists of Jónsi Birgisson (vocals, guitar), Georg Hólm (bass), and Kjartan Sveinsson (keys). Orri Páll Dýrason was their drummer until 2018, when he was outed as a perpetrator of sexual assault, and left the band. The band as a whole was charged with tax evasion in 2019, though that could very reasonably be blamed on a bad accountant. Non-criminally, Sigur Rós is one of the most accomplished and prolific ambient/post-rock bands of all time. The band's name means "Victory Rose" (Jónsi's younger sister's name is Sigurrós). The band is known for Jónsi's signature style of reverb accentuated guitar work using a cello's bow. They have contributed a vast number of songs to movies and TV shows in their existence.
DISCOGRAPHY: Valtari is the band's sixth of eight studio albums. The first was 1997's Von. The most recent was 2023's Átta. The commercial breakout was 1999's Ágætis byrjun.
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ADDITIONAL INFO
READING SOME SHIT: 2013 interview with The Line of Best Fit
WATCHING SOME SHIT: Valtari track by track
RECORD CLUB CONNECTIONS: This is the second band that I can think of that we've covered from Iceland, the first being Of Monsters and Men. This is the second band with any post-rock leanings that I can think of that we've covered, the first being Spielbergs. This is the second artist that I can think of with an annoying accent mark over a vowel that whose Alt+ shortcut I'm never going to remember no matter how many times I look it up, the first being Janelle Monáe. ALSO: Sigur Rós and Radiohead both composed music for Merce Cunningham's dance piece Split Sides. ALSO: the band appeared in a Game of Thrones episode and performed a cover of the National's version of "The Rains of Castamere." (Of Monsters and Men cameo'd in an episode too... also Ed Sheeran, who is not an RC alumnus, but has stuck his snout into these parts on occasion.)
MENTIONS ON THE BLOG: No significant coverage, but a few disparate mentions here and there. There was a Sigur Rós song in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, mentioned in the subsequent interview. The band got a shoutout in Nate's and Sunny's Of Monsters and Men album reviews. Gilson refrained from choosing a Sigur Rós song for YSC. Nate turned Bieber into Sigur Rós. That's it!
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OTHER ALBUMS TO CHECK OUT
LAST WEEK'S ALBUM: Balloonerism by Mac Miller, and make sure to check out the reviews if you wanna see what we thought of it!
RC@5: We're relistening to the Record Club album we featured exactly five years ago this week. The RC album for this week in 2020 was Watermelon Man! by Mongo Santamaria.
RC f/u: We're attempting to catch up on all the new albums from our esteemed Record Club alumni. Mini-reviews coming next Saturday, this week for Evolve by Phish, and Who Will Look After the Dogs? by PUP.
LAST WEEK'S ALBUM: Balloonerism by Mac Miller, and make sure to check out the reviews if you wanna see what we thought of it!
RC@5: We're relistening to the Record Club album we featured exactly five years ago this week. The RC album for this week in 2020 was Watermelon Man! by Mongo Santamaria.
RC f/u: We're attempting to catch up on all the new albums from our esteemed Record Club alumni. Mini-reviews coming next Saturday, this week for Evolve by Phish, and Who Will Look After the Dogs? by PUP.
SHADOW RECORD CLUB: Each week, we're exploring the genres of last week's album. If there is a genre that has a #1-rated album that I've never heard before, I'll download it. If not, I'll just give you my best recommendation. Last week's Balloonerism was a Cloud rap album. We're listening this week to Dark Angels by SpaceGhostPurrp. I've not heard it before.
NEXT WEEK'S RC ALBUM: In case you need some extra time with an album to write a review for it, you can get a head start on The Young and the Hopeless by Good Charlotte!
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Happy listening, RC family!
Have a great week!
Have a great week!
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