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Takk... is still very much a Sigur Rós album, due in large part to the ever-present, otherworldly vocals, but also because the only real changes are the activeness of some arrangments.
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BillboardWhile there are no surprises in its technique or approach, Sigur Rós has succeeded in making a startlingly beautiful record. [17 Sep 2005]
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Well-constructed, thoughtful, emotionally provocative and cathartic.
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Entertainment WeeklyAt times Takk almost rocks--as much as tiny ice-crystal elves from the magical land of Narnia can rock, but still. [16 Sep 2005, p.88]
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Los Angeles TimesToo little progress and too much mood. [4 Sep 2005]
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Takk does what Agaetis Byrjun did by burrowing into the consciousness and snuggling down to bed there, purring. Each listen brings out another mood, another thought. It's gorgeous.
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If you imagine the noise God makes just before he eats a slice of cheese on toast, then comparably, that’s how satisfyingly yearning the 65 minutes of 'Takk…' sounds.
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The tendency to descend into new age goo is still present, and Takk, like all of Sigur Rós' discography, is not for the viscerally-minded. Regardless, the record is more than just meaningless wisps.
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Sigur Ros's sudden accessibility doesn't tarnish their mystique, but deepens and colours it.
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I always felt as if those moments of triumph in the band’s music were the focal points, the “good stuff” you waited for and wanted to arrive and then stay forever. This time around though, they appear to have taken a backseat to the band’s darker impulses, and staggeringly, Takk sounds all the better for it.
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The New York TimesOn past albums, Sigur Ros has forged songs into hermetic sanctuaries, but on "Takk..." it expands its music toward both the abstract and the corporeal. [13 Sep 2005]
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People will be Takk-ing about this truly amazing album for years to come.
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Sigur Rós are still significant, but Takk sounds safe.
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So, while it's easy to imagine most of the songs on Takk... sitting comfortably on previous albums, the ebb and flow would be damagingly disrupted if any of the 11 tracks were moved around, omitted, or added to.
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Certainly, it feels as though Takk emerges from a group who, despite arriving at the zenith of their capability, has, at least for the time being, run out of things to say.
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It is surely intoxicating.
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As music that's beautiful simply for the sake of being beautiful, Takk… is an unqualified success.
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Takk . . . suggests a far more abstract Coldplay stripped of their stadium bombast.
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Shifts into a cruise-control comfort zone, blissfully coasting on what has come before.
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Although the album isn't groundbreaking, it does contain several new wrinkles in sound for the group, and most of them work quite well.
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BlenderOn [Takk...], the band opens up emotionally, warming up their lengthy jams to a slow burn to create intoxicating, meditative rock. [Oct 2005, p.143]
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It will, absolutely and deservedly, reside among the best of the year, but, when given space, can ruminate indefinitely in one’s consciousness and soul.
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MojoUninhibited where "()" felt constipated. [Oct 2005, p.99]
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SpinThere is no more transportive band working in music. [Oct 2005, p.140]
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Q MagazineTakk... [is] a thing of... supple, muscular beauty, throwing off the stultifying air of reverence that has sometimes surrounded them. [Oct 2005, p.116]
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FilterThe results are compact, near-pop micro-anthems. [#17, p.93]
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Their expanded sound, with its explosions of noise and romantic swells, deserves reconsideration by fans and skeptics alike.
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UncutSigur Ros' alien beauty prescribes its own definition. [Oct 2005, p.112]
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Under The RadarA wonderfully unified and realized effort, showcasing a band that has never sounded more sure of themselves. [#11, p.112]
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Takk is sharper and more direct than anything the band has previously churned out, but that is not to say it’s by any means accessible by normal standards.
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Sigur Rós piece together breathtaking orchestrations that sound like they're singing to you from another world, telling you why your world is not so bad, that even in all the miserable monotony, something beautiful perseveres.
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MagnetTakes a baby step toward the mainstream. [#69, p.108]
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UrbEventually the payoff makes all the setup completely worth it. [Dec 2005, p.99]
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Takk... resembles the movie The Aristocrats: a narrow selection of material given killer performances.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 184 out of 208
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Mixed: 14 out of 208
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Negative: 10 out of 208
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Aug 22, 2010perfection
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marcOct 7, 2005
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BatAgaetisByrjunSep 13, 2005As beautiful as Agaetis Byriun