Riceboy Sleeps

Like a coin, most situations in life have two sides to them. Take roller coasters. We all love the thrill but half of that thrill is born from sheer terror. There is the pro and the con. Usually, they are evenly distributed. The same goes for this album from Jonsi Bergson - one quarter of Sigur Ros - and his boyfriend Alex Somers from Parachutes.

Much like any ambient album, as far back as Eno's stuff, there has always been shared enjoyment and confusion. The pro, the con. When does one listen to this music? How much further can ambient music actually go before it all sounds the same; those shimmering sequences of intensity, textures soaring around us bringing to mind vast landscapes and those quiet Lost in Translation moments, etc. It's safe to say most of it has come full circle already. But the circle was probably quite small to begin with.

Much like most of Sigur Ros' stuff, Riceboy Sleeps is easily enjoyable and certainly easy to recommend to others. Meaning, on the one hand, this is a rather safe album and also meaning it's, here it comes, rather beautiful stuff from beginning to end. One would probably expect the ascending tones and the crashing of drums hand in hand with ear piercing vocals but for this project the duo have gone for a slightly subtler approach. Perhaps too subtle. It brings to mind Eno's Music for Airports in both texture (good) and similarity (maybe not so good?)

‘Happiness’ begins with gently crooning reverberating violins and chattering keys. It's overall vision is awesome; hanging on in there at over nine minutes. It sums up the best of Sigur Ros; quiet Scandinavian solitude with some cleverly penned movements. The same can easily be said for the following tracks, ‘Atlas Song‘, another lengthy gorgeously layered number, ‘Indian Summer‘, the choir and gospel feel of ‘Boy 1904‘, the empowering ‘Howl‘. Much of the album treads similar territory and therein lies the problem, if there had to be any, with this album. It doesn't really go anywhere. Like a well-mannered Paris Hilton at a party; the songs appear, they let everyone know they are there and then they leave. And although the album consists of only nine tracks, all of them bridging the 5-10 minute gap, there really is not enough of those special little moments that pepper Sigur Ros' own stuff for this to be considered a true gem of an album, much as this reviewer wished it was.

Graceful, precious stuff overall. In part, equally seductive and romantic, but, put simply; too much and too long.