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( ) is the third full-length album from Icelandic band Sigur Rós, first released in October 2002. It comprises eight untitled tracks, divided into two parts: the first four tracks are more light and optimistic, while the latter four are bleaker and more melancholic.^[1] The two halves are divided by a 36-second silence,^[2] and the album opens and closes with a click of distortion.

History

The album's title consists of two opposing parentheses; it has no other official title, though members of Sigur Rós usually refer to it in Icelandic as "Svigaplatan" ("The Bracket Album").^[3] Fans have referred to it as "Parentheses", "Brackets", or just "The Untitled Album".

The packaging of ( ) is elaborate, consisting of a plastic protective sleeve with two opposing parentheses cut out, which reveal a nature shot printed on the CD case underneath. Apart from Sigur Rós and a sleepwalking child on the plastic sleeve, there is no identification on the CD case itself. Included is a 12-page booklet of thick tracing paper with various black and white nature shots, on which fans were invited to draw or write their own interpretations of the music. Four different covers were made for sale in different areas: America, Australia, Europe, Japan.^[1] There is also a limited edition version of the album, released only in Spain, which contains a 94-page digibook of contemporary art.^[4] Very few copies remain in circulation today.

The album's vocals are recorded in "Vonlenska" ("Hopelandic"),^[1] which consists of meaningless syllables and resembles scat singing. The "language" is named after Von, the first song that featured it.^[5] Most of the syllable-strings sung by vocalist Jón Þór Birgisson are repeated many times throughout each song, and often throughout the whole album. Sigur Rós went on to release a music video for untitled #1 (a.k.a. Vaka) directed by Floria Sigismondi. The video later won the "Best Video" award at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland. A snippet from track 8 was heard during the trailer for the Nicole Kidman film The Invasion.

( ) was produced by Sigur Rós and engineered by Ken Thomas, who was also the engineer on Ágætis byrjun. On the majority of the album the band is accompanied by the string quartet Amiina, which is comprised of four young Icelandic women.^[6] To date, the album has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.

Track listing

All tracks are officially untitled; the other names are the working titles the band members use to refer to the tracks.

1. Untitled #1 (a.k.a. "Vaka") – 6:37 ["Vaka" is the name of Orri's daughter]
2. Untitled #2 (a.k.a. "Fyrsta") – 7:34 ["Fyrsta" means "The First" or the "First Song"]
3. Untitled #3 (a.k.a. "Samskeyti") – 6:33 ["Samskeyti" means "Attachment"]
4. Untitled #4 (a.k.a. "Njósnavélin") – 7:33 ["Njósnavélin" means "The Spy Machine" but is known as "The Nothing Song"]
5. Untitled #5 (a.k.a. "Álafoss") – 9:56 ["Álafoss" is the location of the band's studio]
6. Untitled #6 (a.k.a. "E-Bow") – 8:49 [Georg uses an e-bow on his bass in this song]
7. Untitled #7 (a.k.a. "Dauðalagið") – 12:59 ["Dauðalagið" means "The Death Song"]
8. Untitled #8 (a.k.a. "Popplagið") – 11:45 ["Popplagið" means "The Pop Song"]

Contributors

Sigur Rós:

• Jón Þór Birgisson – voice, guitar, keyboards
• Kjartan Sveinsson – keyboards, guitar
• Georg Hólm – bass, keyboards, glockenspiel
• Orri Páll Dýrason – drums, keyboards

The string quartet Amiina, which usually plays with the band both live and on recordings:

• María Huld Markan – violin
• Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir – violin
• Ólöf Júlía Kjartansdóttir – viola
• Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir – cello

References

External links

• Sigur Rós' website for ( )
• ( ) Spanish edition art