Surprise! After releasing new single “Blóðberg” earlier this week, Icelandic greats Sigur Rós have announced that their first new album in a decade will arrive at midnight, June 16. it’s titled ÁTTA and marks the return of band member Kjartan Sveinsson, who left in 2012, alongside Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm.
The three musicians say that their approach was “just wanting to have minimal drums and for the music to be really sparse, floaty and beautiful,” says Jónsi. “We’re getting older and more cynical so I just wanted to move us so that we felt something!”
Sveinsson adds, “We wanted to allow ourselves to be a bit dramatic and go far with these arrangements. The world needs that right now. It’s hard to describe, but for me everything is always open to interpretation. People can think and feel how they want.”
“It’s what the music asked for and spoke for itself,” says Hólm. “This record sounds like a Sigur Rós album, but it’s more introverted than before. It’s very expansive with this sound of strings, but it looks within more than outside.”
Those strings are provided by the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, and there’s also brass via frequent Icelandic ensemble and regular Sigur Rós collaborators Brassgat í bala.
“When we do this, we always talk about each album as if it might be the last,” says Jónsi. “We’re always thinking about climate change, doom-scrolling and going to hell. The world felt a bit bleak making this album, but maybe there is hope. When there is darkness, there is light.”
You can check out the album art and tracklist, and listen to “Blóðberg” now, below.
ÁTTA drops just in time for what are now release shows in London, Amsterdam and Hamburg this weekend. Sigur Rós will be in North America in August with the Wordless Orchestra, including NYC stops at Beacon Theatre on 8/16 and Kings Theatre on 8/18. All dates are listed below.
ÁTTA
1. Glóð
2. Blóðberg
3. Skel
4. Klettur
5. Mór
6. Andrá
7. Gold
8. Ylur
9. Fall
10. 8