Rus Li is generously offered as a free download at 320kbps through the Blue Belt bandcamp page. You’ll also find a full 15 track self titled Blue Belt album there as a free download that was released last summer.

“i really can’t remember why we started this record, i no longer know what we were trying to do back then. i do know session after session went pear-shaped, we lost focus and almost gave up…did give up for a while. but then something happened and form started to emerge, and now i can honestly say that it’s the only sigur rós record i have listened to for pleasure in my own house after we’ve finished it.” – georg

This could explain why Valtari is somewhat late. Ever since Sigur Rós’ 1999 album Ágætis Byrjun, there has been a full studio album released every 3 years, the most recent studio album being in 2008. Valtari was first hinted at by Sigur Rós during an interview following the premier of Inni in November 2011. Valtari was originally expected to be released in the second half of 2012 but the band have come in ahead of schedule with a release date of the 29th of May 2012 in the USA and on the 28th of May for the rest of the world.

The track listing for the new Sigur Rós album is as follows:

1. Ég Anda

2. Ekki Múkk

3. Varúð

4. Rembihnútur

5. Dauðalogn

6. Varðeldur

7. Valtari

8. Fjögúr Píanó

Jónsi, the singer of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós has recently written the score for the film ‘We Bought A Zoo’. The soundtrack to the film contains two original songs by Jónsi, Ævin Endar and Gathering Stories which you can listen to now on Jónsi’s site.

We Bought A Zoo stars Matt Damon alongside Scarlett Johansson and is about a family that use their life savings to buy a rundown zoo in the English countryside. The film was directed by Cameron Crowe, the same man behind Almost Famous as well as Vanilla Sky (which also featured the music of Sigur Rós) and is set for release on the 23rd of December 2011.

If you want to hear the rest of the ‘We Bought A Zoo’ soundtrack, be sure to visit rollingstone.com tomorrow where it will be available to stream for free.

Darkling, I Listen can be pre-ordered from The Black Atlantic shop here on either CD or vinyl that are being pressed right now. Upon purchase, you’ll also be sent links to download the MP3′s, WAV files and artwork immediately.

Inni, the next instalment to Sigur Rós’ now lengthy discography is finally here. It’s the band’s first truly live album and the second live film after Heima (2007), and is quite simply amazing. Inni, which literally translates from icelandic to english as “inside”, is thought of as the opposite of Heima by the band.

Whereas Heima was all about Sigur Rós themselves in their homeland of Iceland, Inni aimed for a raw approach showing nothing but the band performing and trying to give the viewer the experience of actually being there. They even performed as just a four man band without the accompanying string and brass instruments we grew familiar with on Heima.

The stripped down feel of Inni extends to the monochrome aspect of the footage which quite extraordinarily was first filmed in HD digital, then converted to 16mm film and then re-filmed from a projection through various mediums such as glass.

An incredible amount of work has gone into the post-production of this album which is the main reason I had shivers, technically known as frissons, for half an hour straight while first listening to it. Whether you obtain this album legally through the Sigur Rós website or illegally, make sure it’s at 320kbps. (your ears will thank you for making such a noble decision)

Some bands seem to release live albums as filler between their studio albums but this is anything but. Inni is possibly the best Sigur Rós album yet in terms of sound quality and balance which is so perfect that despite keeping it’s intensity, often doesn’t feel like a live album at all and the audience applause, which is usually annoying in a lot of live recordings, is restricted to just between tracks and isn’t at a deafening volume.

The album features songs from all 5 of Sigur Rós’ studio albums and closes on Lúppulagið which unfortunately is the only song not to appear on any of their previous works. The song selection for Inni seems to show the heavier side of their music and despite including the mandatory Hoppípolla, has a darker and often trance like atmosphere reminiscent of the second half of ( ).

Inni was released worldwide on November the 8th 2011 and in the USA on November 15th.

CD 1    1. Svefn-g-englar  2. Glósóli  3. Ný batterí  4. Fljótavík  5. Við spilum endalaust  6. Hoppípolla  7. Með blóðnasir  8. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur  9. E-Bow

CD 2    1. Sæglópur  2. Festival  3. Hafsól  4. All Alright  5. Popplagið  6. Lúppulagið

cloudeater are a pretty extraordinary band out of Atlanta, Georgia and with the release of their debut full length album ‘Sun and Sidearm’ in September, the band have put together this video for ‘Hardly Wait’, the 3rd song on the album.

Their sound often feels like a hybrid between the panicky, hectic rhythms of some of Thom Yorke’s solo stuff and the brooding atmosphere of Massive Attack. cloudeater’s music also features some intense stormy buildups, just have a look at some of the wave shapes of the tracks below and see the kind of dynamics these guys put into their music.

After the success of The Black Atlantic’s 2009 album Reverence for Fallen Trees, the band are preparing to release their EP entitled ‘Darkling I Listen’. The Flooded Road is the first single to be released from this EP and really shows a certain progression in The Black Atlantic’s sound since 2009.

The Black Atlantic had planned to release the EP today but due to delays in the mixing process it won’t be officially released until the Eurosonic musical festival on January the 13th 2012. However, the full EP will be made available to stream for free from the 5th of December 2011.

I’m With You sees John Klinghofer on guitar after Frusciante’s second departure from the band. This reshuffle gives I’m With You a slightly dirtier sound than previous albums with a healthy dose of crunch distortion on the guitar. Many of the tracks are still punctuated by Anthony Keidis’ trademark staccato spoken word style but I’m With You takes a step back from that definitive, archetypal Red Hot Chilli Peppers sound.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers have, somewhat surprisingly to most, been going for 28 years now and are truly one of the legends of rock ‘n’ roll. I caught them at Reading festival in 2007 and they’re definitely a band you have to see live with their intricate bass lines and enormous stage presence. Previous Red Hot Chili Peppers tours have been renowned for their stamina with the band’s “3 weeks on, 2 weeks off” tactic and with this current tour projected to last from 2011 to 2013, I’m guessing it will be the same.

The band have already been playing warmup dates since July 27th 2011 through Japan, Europe and America and are set to officially start the tour’s first European leg on October the 7th. Be sure to visit this page for an up-to-date list of Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates as the band make their way across the globe.

A preview of what to expect was offered to fans on August the 30th where over 900 cinemas around the world showed a 90 minute long live recording of the band performing the whole of I’m With You in order. The performance, recorded in Cologne, Germany, saw The Flea playing piano in ‘Happiness Loves Company’ after recently studying music theory at the University of Southern California. He feels that his newfound knowledge has added a new dimension to his music and has plans to reveal an instrumental solo album in the future.

They’ve clearly still got it if they can fill the O2 arena in London three nights running and this is definitely one of those bands you simply have to see.

With the release of Arctic Monkey’s fourth album ‘Suck It and See’, tickets will go on sale tomorrow for a UK tour. ‘Suck It and See’ shows Arctic Monkeys reverting somewhat to the sound of their debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ with a more upbeat, stripped back feel. However, I still feel it lacks the everyman-relatable stories we listened to in tracks like ‘From The Ritz To The Rubble’ or ‘Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured’ that made that album such a success.

28 October – Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
29 October – O2 Arena, London
1 November – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
2 November –MEN Arena, Manchester
4 November – LG Arena, Birmingham
5 November – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
6 November – AECC, Aberdeen
8 November – SECC Hall 4, Glasgow
9 November – Echo Arena, liverpool tickets

Tickets go on sale 17th June 2011 at 09:00.

For US readers, Arctic Monkeys already have a few dates lined up in August and will also be playing at Lollapalooza.

Flux is a 7 track album and is instrumental in its entirety. I’d be lying if I said this album didn’t sound a little bit too much like the second half of Sigur Rós’ () but this doesn’t take away from the fact that this album is an outstanding achievement for an unsigned debut. Riddled with crescendos and whirring guitar riffs reminiscent of early Bloc Party, the dynamics in Flux show an unrivaled maturity in their music.

Broken Cities have already put together a music video for The Godfather, the 4th track on Flux.