Sigur Ros: ()

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

Yes it's called "()" and what's inside is also on the abstract side. None of the eight songs which swoon across the Reykjavik quartet's 72 minutes has titles. Then again they don't really do song things.

Jon Thor Birgisson's vocals are a mixture of Icelandic and made-up sounds that he calls "Hopelandish". It's elegant drone-rock sometimes reminding of My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead's weirder moments at half speed and tempting - given the geography - to raid the thesaurus for variations on "glacial" and "volcanic". Though this is icier and melancholic in tone, and a little too high-minded to absorb all in one sitting.

But if you buy one Icelandic headphones-in-the-dark album this year ...

Label: Fatcat