( )

VINYL FORMAT. Special UK pressing! ( ) comprises eight untitled songs that Sigur Ros have been playing at concerts over the past three years. A 30-second period of silence divides the 71-minute album in two halves, each half containing four tracks. The first half is light and optimistic, while the second half is bleaker and more melancholic and "plays more with your emotions," as Jonsi said. Comparing to the band's last album, agaetis Byrjun, ( ) is more minimal and atmospheric than its predecessor. A rawer and darker album and considerably less accessible than agaetis byrjun, the drum beats are usually slow (tracks one and three are drum-free) and the songs take their time to progress into the trademark Sigur Ros emotional climaxes, making for a more challenging but more rewarding listen. With its intense highs and lows, and its mood ranging from brittle to brutal, ( ) is very much a headphone album.