Sigur Ros - Inni

Mon 28th Nov, 2011 in Music Reviews

Inni is the first live album by Icelandic prodigals, Sigur Ros. It also marks the band’s first release since 2008 and it is primarily comprised of the group’s last live show before their hiatus following their final tour almost exactly three years ago at the Alexandria Theatre in London.

Comprised of a seventy five minute film and a live CD just shy of two hours, Inni is the exact definition of what a live release should be and demonstrates why Sigur Ros are so widely acclaimed and missed. It is also one of the first performances of the band performing strictly as a four piece since being graced with a permanent string section as apart of their live shows in the early 00s.

First the film, Inni is a rare breed that is both beautifully shot and truly entertaining. A some what unconventional process. Inni was first shot in HD digital film it was then transferred over to 16mm film 9a type of film used as a cheap alternative to the more expensive 35mm in the 1920s). It was then projected and re-filmed once more sometimes through filters such as glass and paper to give certain shots a blurry distinct look. It was a project that was conjured up by director Vincent Morriset (Arcade Fire’s Mirror Noir ) and Godspeed You Black Emperor visual collaborator Karl Lemieux.

The results are truly unique and beautiful with each shot capturing the essence of the Sigur Ros as a band and individuals. The black and white visuals resemble Salvador Dali or Charlie Chaplin’s silent films from the 20s. The lack of colour also sees the band in a very different light to the more positive tour documentary, Heima. The whole thing feels far more darker than anything else Sigur Ros has produced musically and visually. Gone are the elaborate horn and string sections and for the performance aspect of the film it is strictly the band and while they appear to be enjoying themselves on stage it does seem like the end of an era with the performance also being the band’s final show to date.

Inni also shows the band in a less serious setting, proving that they are still regular people and not some mythical god-like creatures. After the truly haunting opener Ny Batteri the films opening credits appear a long with an almost awkward interview of the band on radio station NPR. Hilariously, the presenter asks if Sigur Ros’s music had always been like this and is greeted with a long silence and then a slight chuckle before the film cuts to the title. Throughout the film these little clips pop up of the band doing various things from jumping bicycles over a cable protector backstage at a random music festival, to the band explaining the groups roots in a subtitled conversation on the back of a bus. Even pianist Kjartan “Kjarri” Sveinsson is shown being thrown off a hotel piano by a disgruntled misinformed manager.

There’s also some interesting bit of footage is of the band playing one of their first shows. There are none of the lavish stage lights and sheer scope of today’s show. Instead, stage party lights adore a stage about a quarter of the size of the Alexandria Theatre. It also shows the band set up their own equipment, young and just like everyone else. This clip is shown throughout the film and as the show progresses, the opening guitar line of Popplagio intertwines from the early show back into Inni with the camcorder filming the early show running out of tape and the Inni spectacle continuing the track.

The accompanying CDs are in a slightly different order to the film and instead of one disc the tracks are spread out over two discs. The audio quality is lush and covers a huge range of frequencies without losing an ounce of volume or quality as the fate of a number of live albums suffer. A generous helping of the tracks are made up from the band’s last release Meo Suo I Eyrum Vio Spilum while continually dipping into classics from Agaeis Byrjun, Takk and ( ).

Opening the film, the rendition of Ny Batteri is truly haunting as the reverb soaked noise that comes out from Jonsi’s bowed guitar is hauntingly dark and in combination with his renowned falsetto truly creates a unique atmosphere. While Festival however is almost on the opposite end of the spectrum with it’s upbeat feel and mood. Around the two and a half minute mark Jonsi holds a very high note and continues to hold it for a staggering forty five seconds. The crowd thinks he can’t hold it halfway through and start cheering but come fifteen seconds later they ecstatically cheer again as the note still resonates throughout the venue before the eventual climax and the instrumental soundscape that follows.

The only track that is shared between the last film Heima and Inni is Popplagio which spans a enormous fifteen and a half minutes which could test your patience but is delightfully moving and a journey on its own when given the chance. There is only one new track on Inni which comes in the form of the tender Luppulagio it is played as the credits are rolled on the film and is a atmospheric piece centred around a delicate piano riff and reverb swells. In the four piece setting, tracks such as Hoppipolla should seem more sparse without the string accompaniment but luckily sound as full as on record and even take new and interesting directions. Orri Pall Dyrason’s drumming is also essential to a lot of the tracks being the driving force behind some and then being the monstrous beast lurking and waiting to explode during some of the more atmospheric tracks.

Inni is an essential item for Sigur Ros fans and also acts as one hell of an introduction to new fans. By covering most of their discography at times it can be a delicate, beautiful experience and then within two tracks it can be as aggressive and unnerving as being locked in a room with a tiger.