Sigur Rós reveal surprise new album ‘ATTA’
For decades, Sigur Rós has been one of the leading forces in post-rock, creating some of the most engaging ambient music to come out of the past century. After nearly a decade since their last studio record, the Icelandic collective is back with a surprise new album, ATTA.
This marks the first major project that Sigur Rós has released since their 2013 album Kveikur. It also follows the release of their first new song ‘‘Blóðberg’ earlier this week. After going through a decade’s worth of life, the band have shared that the ten-track album is one of the most emotionally direct records they have ever made.
When discussing the content, bassist Georg Hólm talked about the past few years inspiring the project, telling NME, “In a post-pandemic world torn apart by war, economic turmoil, culture wars, and brutally divisive discourse, ATTA feels like a balming and unifying bond”.
The album is the first undertaking made with the reformed lineup of the group, with Kjartan Sveinsson returning to the fold after leaving the band in 2012. Although the band have created some new textures on their latest project, Hólm thinks that this version is more muted than before.
Detailing the album’s production, Hólm thought that this latest version of the band is far more reserved, continuing, “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”.
As far as the arrangements go on the record, Jónsi Birgisson discussed wanting to make sure the band wrote something that would resonate with them, stating, “We’re getting older and more cynical so I just wanted to move us so that we felt something!”
The new record will also coincide with their upcoming tour, starting at the Meltdown Festival and continuing throughout Europe and North America. ATTA is set to be released this Friday, June 16th, 2023.
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