< On a new Sigur Rós album, warmth and light push through the darkness

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The music scene in Iceland is very small-d democratic. Musicians might rehearse with a symphony during the day and play in a metal band at night. So it's not surprising that Iceland's beloved experimental rock band Sigur Ros is kicking off its summer tour tonight with a 41-piece orchestra.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FALL")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing in non-English language).

CHANG: The band is touring to support its first album in 10 years. It's called "ATTA," or "Eight." And NPR's Tom Huizenga has been listening.

TOM HUIZENGA, BYLINE: Sigur Ros' music, with its lush layers and slow, churning grandeur, has often commanded a symphonic feel. "ATTA," the band's eighth album, manages to be its most majestic and intimate at the same time.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLODBERG")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing in Icelandic).

HUIZENGA: The album came about by chance, really. Even before the release of the previous Sigur Ros album in 2013, band members more or less went their separate ways. Kjartan Sveinsson, the keyboard player, began writing film scores and classical pieces, and singer-guitarist Jon Thor Birgisson, who goes by Jonsi, continued his solo career. But in 2019, the two friends, who had been making music together for over two decades, reunited in Jonsi's basement in Los Angeles, just noodling around when creative sparks ignited.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLD")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing) Cold and frozen, golden...

HUIZENGA: COVID got in the way, but after Sveinsson made another trip to LA, plus the input of original bass player Georg Holm, a new album with all its dark beauty began to crystallize. It unspools like a symphonic song cycle, and Jonsi's high-flying falsetto often reaches for operatic ecstasy.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SKEL")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing in non-English language).

HUIZENGA: Can't understand the words? You're not alone. Some songs are in Hopelandic, made up of nonsense syllables. But, like opera, where you might not understand the native tongue, it's the music and Jonsi's expressive performance that says it all. Another song in Hopelandic is "Cliff," which sports a concussive beat that suddenly halts as the heavens open to celestial light.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KLETTUR")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing in non-English language).

HUIZENGA: Depending on your mood, "ATTA" might come off as gloomy or glorious. It was written in the shadow of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But rays of pure, golden light shine through, and the band retains its singular way of crafting melodies that tug at the heart. Jonsi calls it heavy but hopeful.

CHANG: That was NPR's Tom Huizenga reviewing the album "ATTA" by Sigur Ros.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KLETTUR")

SIGUR ROS: (Singing in non-English language).

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