A band known for unforgettable live performances makes its Thai debut this Sunday. Iceland's four horsemen of the post-rock apocalypse Sigur Rós are bringing their singular live experience to Bangkok with a show at Moonstar Studio.
Reviews of the band see journalists reaching for the thesaurus in an attempt to describe Sigur Rós, unleashing a torrent of adjectives such as portentous, otherworldly, transcendent and ethereal. Some are moved a step further to employ overwrought sentiments, with one likening the music to God's golden tears. But what one sees across the band's press coverage is near unanimous praise of its live shows.
This isn't the "Woah-oh-oh" arena singalong of Coldplay or a crowd screaming at Adam Levine's abs. Sigur Rós concoct a multi-sensory assault of thunderstorm lighting, visuals projected through banks of dry ice, and musical mastery of their ebb and flow dynamics. The four multi-instrumentalists conjure a maximal sonic spell, juxtaposing waves of orchestral quiet and crescendo, lullabies and dissonance.
Vocalist Jónsi Birgisson sings in Icelandic or his karaoke-unfriendly invented language of Hopelandic, showcasing his sometimes monastic, sometimes exultant falsetto. Former keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson has rejoined the group, playing alongside founding member Georg Holm, with drummer Ólafur Ólafsson anchoring the songs amid the swirling walls of post-rock sound. Devotees of the band describe the concerts as spiritual communion.
There is no support act for the Bangkok show. Instead, the band will play two hour-plus sets split by a 20-minute intermission. The shows on the current tour have seen the band perform a total of 21 songs, spanning their career from 1999's Agætis Byrjun to new material from their upcoming album, garnering nothing less than stellar reviews.
Promoter VIJI Corp, who were behind 2018's excellent Nine Inch Nails show at Moonstar, are hinting of tickets selling out soon, so grab yours fast to guarantee you don't miss the event.
Tickets are 2,800 baht from ticketmelon.com/viji/sigurros.
