Von
by: Sigur Rós
Your Price: $21.98
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Sales Rank: 22430
Sales Rank: 22430
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Music : Von |
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Rating:  - * Clues of glorious futures ... Mostly this album is an overblown dark ambient hodgepodge of genre fittings, but occasionally the brilliance that would become this band comes through. Their debut is perhaps the only album where Sigur Ros could actually be heard sounding like something else (quintessential shoegazers Slowdive come to mind) and the only album in their respected discography not needed to date. Rating:  - * Audio Art at it's best. ... I was introduced to Sigur Ros backwards. I heard all their latest albums first and finally got my way back to the original release. This album sounds nothing like the other ones, it is a real jem -their best in my opinion. A organic mixture of sounds that spark emotion; I loved every second of it. If you like experimental music this is your ticket! -d Rating: - * Good, but not very ... This album is good, but not very. The 3rd track really disappointed me. I just bought this album to listen to the 5th track. If you're a fan, try and buy this album. It might be good for you. But if you're not a fan, try their other albums. This album might not be best for you or maybe the other way around. Just try it, if you like it, keep it. If you don't like it, maybe you could give it to somebody else who loves this kind of music. If you don't like it, don't buy it! If you like it, buy it! Rating: - * Underrated Beauty ... If I remember correctly, this album was supposed to be experimental, not something concerning a particular concept or following a certain pattern. Many fans don't consider this album their favorite. But it was my first, and I can't deny that this one may be my most liked. The vocalist reminds me of ghosts singing to themselves in their (after)lifetime of bleakness. The delicately soft music hypnotizes me. Though Von is primarily supposed to be experimental, I believe this album flows very easily. Nothing virtuoso, as Sigur Rós's music has always reflected, but this album's atmosphere is beautifully introverted and contemplative. It is very dark despite the title's suggestion. The child's picture on the album cover even hints at the music's subtle eerieness. The subject seems to hint at the perception of the birthing process and the introduction of life's abstracts through a very young child's eyes. The album's air is disturbing, passive-aggressive, and, in some songs, at a euphoric calm. The tracks that stand out, in my humble opinion, are: 2. Dögun - Very long but very intriguing. The guitar adds a nice twist to the song's creepy atmosphere. 3. Hún Jörð - A "reversed" Lord's prayer to Mother Earth. Definitely one of the most chaotic songs of Sigur Rós. Jonsi screams, and then he screams backwards. Odd but distinct in comparison to the band's future sound. 5. Myrkur - An eerily active yet sorrowful piece about darkness. The drums add a rhythm to Sigur Rós that I have not found on any other albums. The same even goes for the guitar section. 7. Hafssól - I would say this song is a precursor to the future of Sigur Rós. It is slow and mellow, and it reminds me of space or the sea more than a half-sun. 9. Von - This song almost tells me "finally," as if it settles all of the tension built up previously. The acoustic guitar and quiet drumming adds an earthy tone to this settled piece. 11. Syndir Guðs (Opinberun Frelsarans) - Tense, sad. I think I hear whispers of English, such as "Nobody here," in the background. That sums it up fairly well. Basically, I can appreciate all of the songs on here that are not fillers. But even the fillers are enjoyable, if not at times twisted, transitions. This album is underrated but worth your time if you are interested in Sigur Rós. Rating: - * A gloomy synthesis of rock, ambience, and electronic experimentation ... As a huge fan of 1960s-1970s European psychedelic and progressive rock, "Berlin School" electronica, and American minimalism, I was delighted with this 1997 debut from Icelanders Sigur Ros. Stylistically, this album fuses elements of electronica, minimalism, the European avant-garde, and ambient styles (especially Brian Eno) with rock, and exhibits a level of studio wizardry that is vaguely reminiscent of psychedelic rock groups such as Pink Floyd during the 1967-1969 period. The overall mood of Von is windswept and grey, haunting, and at times, pretty creepy. A good example of the creepiness is provided by the heavily echoed "screams from outer space" on the 9'46" opening track (Sigur Ros), briefly at the end of Hun Jord, and on Syndir Guos. Interestingly, those screams made the hairs stand on the back of my neck just as readily as the bloodcurdling screams on "Careful with that Axe Eugene" (Pink Floyd, 1968). There are gloomy, brooding vocal parts scattered throughout the recording, although they do not comprise a large part of the compositions. Interestingly, the lyrics were written in a fabricated language called "Hopelandic" - the French band Magma (chamber progressive) did something similar in the early-mid 1970s in a language called "Kobaian". It is worth noting that the heavy opening of Hun Jord (complete with distorted guitar played at a crushing volume), the beautifully sad Myrkur, the title track Von, and Syndir Guos, in addition to the last few minutes of the final track Aukrym (albeit with backwards recorded parts) are the only pieces that resemble "songs", and for the most part, the pieces are instrumental and very lengthy. Although there are breaks here and there, musical themes are restated at various points throughout the album, creating a single larger work. Instrumentation is somewhat sparse, and electronic experimentation conducted primarily on synthesizers (possibly guitar synthesizers as well) dominate the aural landscape. Brief passages of electric guitar (heavily distorted in addition to clean tones) and acoustic guitar are present during the conventional "songs", in addition to bass guitar, drums, and very interesting percussion parts. In contrast to a lot of ambient recordings, which exhibit only extremely subtle permutations in musical themes within a given piece, Von is sprinkled with variations in tone and timbre, and displays use of both experimental and found sounds. This variability, coupled with the combination of vocal and experimental passages, in addition to the stark dynamic contrasts between the spacier passages and the heavy, "rocking" sections makes Von a very interesting recording. This debut album is recommended to those people that don't mind experimental approaches to rock music and are not put off by the absence of traditional song structure. In fact, I highly recommend this album to fellow progheads that are desperately looking for excellent music in the current prog scene. Further discussion of the band is provided on the Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock website - unfortunately it has not been updated. However, the Prog Archives website provides a complete discography with reviews and should serve as a good starting point. |
Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. --Tom Keogh
Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom Keogh
