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To The End Of The World With Sigur Rós

When you listen to a Sigur Rós track it's like you're visiting the end of the world. In fact their music could be the end of the world. The band has been written and talked about by everyone under the sun and for the past several years their fanatical following has grown and grown. Now they've collaborated on a film. And it's wonderful.

Last week the band played an up-close and personal show at the Vista movie theater in LA. It was the LA premiere of the documentary Heima and needless to say the performance was spectacular. There are the obvious references to Bjork and all things Icelandic but there's something equally as special in Sigur Rós. It could very well be something in the water. And if it is? Then we want some. In fact water features in such an important and prominent way in the gentle yet brutal landscape of this film, that it makes you want to visit Iceland.

The film features a series of magical free concerts that the band threw as a thank you to the people of Iceland. In a way, the band used the shows to help them reacquaint themselves with their "heima" or home, the settings are equally as incredible as the band’s music and together they border on a religious experience. If you've ever seen the band perform live in a big venue imagine capturing that energy in a disused Icelandic herring factory in front of 30 people.

If you blink you might miss it but underneath all that beauty and power is a David Fincher (Zodiac, Se7en, Fight Club)-like noise. It's as if he got hold of the film and infiltrated a sub text to it that is Sigur Rós. There's something lurking underneath as these gentle, incredible souls warm you to their home of Iceland.

Directed by Dean DeBlois, who very strangely also made Lilo and Stitch, this is a layered and beautiful noisy film.

Heima is in cinemas on November 2 and on two disk DVD on November 5. Disk one is the film and includes two exclusive new songs "Guitardjamm" and the traditional "A Ferd Til Breidarfjardar 1922". The second disk contains extras and all the songs from the film. There's exclusive new performances, and the brand new track "Heima".

Check out the trailer

Also worth checking out is Screaming Masterpiece, a compelling doc on the unique Icelandic music scene.

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