8 Albums You'll Never Forget Listening To For The First Time

4. Sigur Ros €“ ( )

How can something so utterly baffling be so beautiful? That's the pervading feeling that accompanies Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros's third studio album. Released in 2002, the memorability of ( ) starts right at the record's title, which consists of two opposing parentheses. These parentheses are likely supposed to represent the album's two halfs, which are both musically different. From there, the listener is faced with the fact that none of the record's songs have any names. The eight tracks are completely untitled, these titles not even being delineated by numbers on the official release. If that's not strange enough, things are really driven home by the fact that the lead singer Jonsi sing the album's lyrics entirely in €œHopelandic€. Hopelandic is a language completely made-up of gibberish, and has no basis in reality. The whole thing might sound totally self-indulgent, but the music itself is so gorgeous that it's incredibly hypnotizing. Experiencing the record's obtuse title and lack of track names is enough to turn most people off, but a couple minutes into the first song it becomes quickly aware that ( ) has much to offer regardless.