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9.1
42011
9.1 |
A.V. Club
A nearly percussion-free batch of ambient soundscapes that may frustrate fans of its more direct predecessor, but ranks among the group’s most elegant records
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9.0
42074
9.0 |
Blurt
Slippery, shimmery, beautiful songs
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9.0
43541
9.0 |
Entertainment.ie
No band better understands the spiritual power of music, its ability to bypass reason and go straight for the heart
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9.0
41681
9.0 |
Rave Magazine
This steamroller doesn’t hit all at once. It moves gently, sweeping you up inch by inch before knocking the wind out of you
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9.0
41486
9.0 |
FasterLouder
As a return to Sigur Rós’ unique brand of post-rock, Valtari seeks to cradle its audience in an unassumingly beautiful soundscape. The LP is terrifically raw and therefore highly emotive
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8.0
41584
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
Valtari is their most ambient, most spectral album since 2002’s ( ). Sigur Rós have re-entered their special world
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8.0
41600
8.0 |
Uncut
These eight tracks are rooted in stillness. Print edition only
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8.0
41906
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Valtari might not be a huge digression for the band but that doesn’t matter: this is quietly, entrancingly and thoroughly sublime
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8.0
41917
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
With Sigur Rós firmly re-entrenched in their unique ambient-rock niche, Valtari proves that Inni was more of an unfortunate blip than the sign of impending stagnation
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8.0
41927
8.0 |
DIY
While previous records are steeped in triumphant ascensions and hair-raising climaxes, Valtari merely basks in the very essence of prettiness
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8.0
41702
8.0 |
musicOMH
Valtari is a complex album and time is required for these songs to become truly effective. Once their beauty becomes apparent however, it becomes clear that Valtari is up there with Sigur Rós’ best work
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8.0
43726
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
You’ll still not understand what Sigur Rós are saying, but the fact that it still seems to be very important indeed (and beyond words in any case) makes them, once again, as wondrous as the wild
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8.0
42174
8.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
With a little age and a lot of patience, this record reveals its wondrousness
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8.0
42314
8.0 |
All Music
A refined display of their musical power with breathtaking dynamics and enough emotion to flood an ocean
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8.0
42341
8.0 |
No Ripcord
Valtari may seem to project a grainy paint finish, capturing every decaying frame as if about to fall into a standstill. But it’s just levelling a common path, forging a new way forward
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8.0
41998
8.0 |
State
Admirers of this wildly original band’s sound — as reliable as summer rain — will feel sated by this nearly hour-long journey; Valtari testifies to Sigur Rós’ staggering depth of artistic integrity
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8.0
41461
8.0 |
BBC
Probably the band’s quietest since 1999’s groundbreaking Ágætis Byrjun, and consequently their most perplexing. Yet, in some ways, this is one of their most beautiful releases in a career that has never been short of elegance
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7.9
43917
7.9 |
Beats Per Minute
A powerfully gentle album
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7.0
42356
7.0 |
Spin
Post-rock heroes return with another LP of uncanny beauty, a throbbing glob of pop with no discernible center
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7.0
42047
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
It’s like sacred music of a religion sans dogma or proscriptions
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7.0
42058
7.0 |
PopMatters
A masterpiece it isn’t, but Valtari is undeniably significant, as this could be the very moment where Sigur Rós have hit the ceiling of their own beauty
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7.0
41744
7.0 |
NME
Business-as-usual has rarely sounded this beautiful. Print edition only
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7.0
42777
7.0 |
The AU Review
Sounds like an earlier Sigur Rós record, pre-Jónsi’s solo career. The imagery is conjures up is gorgeous and everything you’d be expecting from the band following their hibernation/hiatus period
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6.7
41462
6.7 |
Pretty Much Amazing
They haven’t challenged themselves. Maybe with Jonsi doing his own thing for a few years in between there wasn’t enough time to push it as far as they could
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6.6
42201
6.6 |
Paste Magazine
Feels like an established act getting back on its feet
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6.5
41647
6.5 |
Prefix
Beautiful front to back, it's still an album that never quite asserts itself
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6.1
42057
6.1 |
Pitchfork
Sigur Rós have proven they can make indelible music that's pretty and unpredictable, pretty and melodic, pretty and unnerving, pretty and inspiring. Valtari wants to be pretty and that's it
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6.0
41464
6.0 |
Q
Don't hate them because they're beautiful: but maybe feel a little annoyed that their beauty means so much to them. Print edition only
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6.0
42075
6.0 |
God Is In The TV
This is a sweet and beautiful album. Even better, it doesn’t have to be your “thing” to be an enjoyable listening experience. Lovely
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6.0
41931
6.0 |
Under The Radar
Glides along with the grace we've come to associate from the Scandinavian quartet— without ever plunging to new and exciting depths
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6.0
41988
6.0 |
Mojo
Sparse, occasionally breathtaking Icelandic landscapes. Print edition only
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6.0
41819
6.0 |
The Guardian
All too easily, the songs sink into the background – which is a shame, because there is also great beauty here
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6.0
41864
6.0 |
Evening Standard
It’s a firm retreat from general accessibility, all slow-moving atmospheres and textures, and is best suited to the most dedicated existing fans
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6.0
41879
6.0 |
The Independent
Indistinct ambiences are gradually inhabited by swells of organ, piano, strings and voices, rising with awed mystery towards hints of an epiphany that never quite comes
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6.0
41890
6.0 |
The Observer
These slow-building, shivery washes of sound are what the band do best, proving worthy of far more listening time than those incidental moments soundtracking nature programmes
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6.0
41903
6.0 |
Clash
Their tone and style as a band is so robust now that short of quizzing them about their processes we’d doubt anyone would clock that this is an album of mastering and mixing wizardry
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5.0
42609
5.0 |
The Quietus
Their most unambitious work to date. Valtari is by no means a bad record; it's extremely easy to enjoy. It's even beautiful at times. Unfortunately, it's even easier to forget
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