Ný Batterí

Ny Batteri is a mini-album and, as ever with Sigur Ros, it's simply and classically packaged, this time in matt black adorned with an angel winged alien (a telling touch as Sigur Ros seem to be aiming in their music for the beautiful and strange). The tracks begin slowly, with quiet, jazzy brass or a warped keyboard, then slowly build into echoing gothic cathedrals of sound, or sweeping orchestrals floods. The vocals are uniformly high, human and vulnerable, not far removed from religious incantations. There's a beauty and solemnity to Ny Batteri that's extremely rare and valuable. It should be treasured. --Dominic Wills