Sigur Ros Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust by: Ed Butler Thu:26-Jun-08 Label: XL Year: 2008 WB rating 80 out of 100

Reinventions are a dime a dozen these days. Po-faced bands do the media rounds upon the release of a new album arm-in-arm with a solemnly decree that they were looking to 'challenge' themselves, their label and anyone who may come within earshot of their newest release. Apparently Coldplay's X&Y was 'a new direction' for the band, the Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium was to be their Physical Graffiti. Once a band has made it to the big time there is an unspoken need, in the interests of longevity, that their sound evolves, pushing forward as their collective hairlines recede.

As evidenced by the aforementioned mega-releases, the notion of reinvention is often a bald furphy. Pressure from labels and fans tend to ensure that the sound that pushed millions of records remains intact. Not all bands failed in this respect, however. U2's Achtung Baby remains to this day an object lesson in how to allow a band to evolve its sound and image while still remaining undeniably itself. But this appears to be the exception, rather than the rule.

So, when Sigur Rós declared that their new album involved a more 'organic' recording process, with none of the epic soundscapes of their previous releases, the world's interest was piqued. Having made three albums which are widely agreed to be seminal – if not all-time classics – a reinvention was probably due, as the predictable mutterings had begun after the release of 2005's Takk: the band was resting on its laurels, getting lazy. But how would Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ears We Sing Endlessly) stand up in the refreshing new sound stakes?

It is a relief to announce that this is one of the most successful of these efforts in recent memory. Opening track, and lead single, 'Gobbledigook' leads the way, with tribal beats, a three-minute runtime, all manner of layered random noises, and not a cello bow thrashing an electric guitar to be found. Starting the album in such a manner is clearly a statement of intent. The result is a more user-friendly sound, which simultaneously ensures that their hard-won credibility is not be threatened by 'Gobbledigook' appearing on Saturday morning teen music shows.

Most reassuringly, Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust is positively awash with a band confident and secure in itself and its own sound. Having recorded Hvarf/Heim last year, Sigur Rós seem to have purged themselves of any overblown pretensions that may once have existed, and exercised considerable restraint in search of a new niche to occupy. No longer are there applicable comparisons to glaciers and plateaus, but summery fields, naked nymphs running through forests and brooks (as seen in the 'Gobbledigook' video) and otherworldly pastoral folk.

This restraint is no more apparent than in a cursory glance at the album's running time. 11 songs, 55 minutes – compared to the 77 minute for eight tracks on the epic ( ), that is equivalent to Sigur Rós doing a Ramones cover album. Only three tracks exceed five minutes, and none run over 10. The longest, bearing an English title for the first time, 'Festival', is also the most like a traditional Sigur Rós number, slowly building to a drum- and horn-driven crescendo, but the faerie-like vocals that Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson appears to have adopted adorn every crevice, double and triple-tracked for added effect, enhancing the forest-nymph feel of the record. He still doesn’t sing in English, though.

Birgisson also seems to have dispensed with his penchant for listening to obscure jazz numbers and indigenous tribal music from around the globe for a set of more mainstream influences. ‘Góðan daginn’ and ‘Með suð í eyrum’ are by far the most accessible numbers the band has released, with all the trappings of a traditional ballad, wrapped in a particularly knotty Icelandic bow.

However, like all reinventions, it is almost impossible to create music that will be remembered as astonishing by putting it in a different package. While 'Ára bátur's nine-minute waltz and angelic choirs can undoubtedly induce goosebumps, the slower, acoustic numbers that close out the album, such as the Jonsi plus acoustic guitar ' Illgresi' lack the grandeur required to truly grab the attention.

Indeed, it is when the band's newfound vigour is on display that Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust truly excels. 'Gobbledigook', with its Midsummer Night's Dream feel, and album highlight, the truly stunning ' Inní mér syngur vitleysingur' are among the best things the band has ever recorded, simultaneously immediate and subtle, with a depth that allows huge rewards from repeat listens.

In ensuring that the world's music journalists will wear out the copy and paste functions on their computers, Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust has undoubtedly ensured that Sigur Rós have the longevity that many of those repeatedly hitting 'Ctrl+C' assured us all that they didn’t. It is a reinvention that, while failing to scale the lofty heights to which their old sound ascended, is a statement that Sigur Rós are about more than mere alien soundscapes, and still have places to go. Places that millions will certainly be willing to follow, and will be duly rewarded for doing so.