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Sigur Ros Preview June LP ‘Kveikur’ With Harrowing ‘Brennisteinn’ Video

Sigur Ros, "Brennistein," video

Sigur Rós’s atmospheric rock has grown more turbulent, on the evidence so far surrounding the Icelandic band’s new album Kveikur. The follow-up to last year’s Valtari is due out on June 18 in the United States via XL Recordings, Sigur Rós announced today, and the nearly eight-minute video for first advance track “Brennisteinn” confirms their previous remarks that the next record will be “more aggressive.” 

Directed by Andrew Huang, who has also worked with Björk, the “Brennisteinn” video intersperses hard-charging performance footage with flames, green goo, and a vaguely barbaric chase scene. The imagery is elliptical, but “Brennistein” — which, as Stereogum notes, the band played live recently — showcases Jónsi’s familiar lofty coo and the band’s usual dynamic sweep. Kveikur marks Sigur Rós’ album as a trio, though, following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson, and their stripped-down lineup has coincided with a heavier lurch that’s welcome but may take some getting used to. Godspeed, you Icelandic emperors!

The album might still be a few months away, but Sigur Rós are set to play on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tonight and will take the stage at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Monday. Check out the Kveikur cover art and track list, plus tour dates, below.

  Sigur Ros, 'Kveikur,' cover art

Kveikur track list:

1. “Brennisteinn
2. “Hrafntinna”
3. “Isjaki”
4. “Yfirbord”
5. “Stormur”
6. “Kveikur”
7. “Rafstraumur”
8. “Bláprádur”
9. “Var”

Sigur Rós 2013 tour:

March 24 – Washington, DC @ Patriot Center
March 25 – New York City, NY @ Madison Square Garden
March 26 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
March 27 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada @ Bell Centre
March 29 – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada @ Scotiabank Place
March 30 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Air Canada Theatre Bowl
April 1 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
April 2 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
April 3 – Saint Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
April 4 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
April 6 – Denver, CO @ 1st Bank
April 8 – Dallas, TX @ Verizon Theatre
April 9 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
April 10 – Austin, TX @ Cedar Park Center
April 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
April 13 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
April 16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
April 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic
April 19 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
April 20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
May 10 – Jakarta, Indonesia @ Istora Senayan
May 14 – Toyko, Japan @ Nippon Budokan
May 15 – Nagoya, Japan @ Zepp, Nagoya
May 16 – Fukuoka, Japan @ Zepp, Fukuoka
May 17 – Osaka, Japan @ Kobe World Hall, Osaka
May 19 – Seoul, South Korea @ Olympic Gymnastics Arena
May 21 – Hong Kong, China @ Asia World Arena
May 25 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Music Festival
May 26 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater
May 27 – Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada @ Deer Lake Park
June 19 – Dresden, Germany @ Junge Garde
June 21-23 – Scheessel, Germany @ Hurricane Festival (One performance, Date TBA)
June 21-23 – Neuhausen, Germany @ Southside Festival (One performance, date TBA)
June 23 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret Festival
June 25 – Warsaw, Poland @ Sowinskiego Amphitheatre
June 28 – St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Openair
June 30 – Cornwall, United Kingdon @ Eden Project
July 4 – Werchter, Belgium @ Rock Werchter
July 6 – Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
July 14 – Joensuu, Finland @ Ilosaarirock Festival
July 18 – Ostrava, Czech Republic @ Colours of Ostrava
July 20 – Salacgriva, Latvia @ Positivus Festival
July 26 – Ferrara, Italy @ Piazza Castello
July 27 – Lucca, Italy @ City Square
July 28 – Rome, Italy @ Ippodromo Delle Capennelle
August 30 – Cheshire, United Kingdom @ Jodrell Bank
August 31 – North Dorset, United Kingdom @ End of the Road Festival
November 16 – Dublin, Ireland @ O2 Arena
November 19 – Nottingham UK @ Nottingham Arena
November 20 – Brighton UK @ Brighton Centre
November 21/2012 London UK @ Wembley Arena
November 23 – Luxembourg @ Rockhal
November 24 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Jahrhunderthalle
November 25 – Dusseldorf, Germany @ Mitsubishi Electric Hall
November 27 – Malmo, Sweden @ Balgiska Hallen
November 28 – Oslo, Norway @ Spektrum