Ice 'n' easy

Sigur Ros Barrowland,GlasgowHHHH Where most rock bands would usually put their drum riser, Sigur Ros have a string quartet. This pretty much sums up the attitude of the bookish Icelandic foursome. Some interpret it as considered artistry. Others judge it as po- faced pretension.

But there's no denying that their glacial sonic soundscapes can be both haunting and beautiful, combining spidery guitar lines, plinky- plonk piano and lead singer Jon Por Birgisson's astonishing vocal mumbo-jumbo into an expansive, widescreen delight; the kind of stuff whales might listen to if they wanted to chill out.

They play a selection of tracks from their bewitching album ( ) - infamous for having no song titles - which sound pretty much the same as the record. Certainly, the album opener - let's call it "track one" - ebbs and flows as it does on record, and that other one that appropriates the piano intro from Coldplay's Trouble and wrings it into intriguing new shapes is also waftingly excellent.

Bergisson sometimes plays his guitar with a violin bow, which is nice. And on one song, bassist Georg Holm strums his instrument with a drumstick, which works surprisingly well.

If there is a criticism, it's that there is little connection with the crowd, who maintain a polite reverence throughout. But the lack of between-song jokes seems appropriate considering the vibe; banter would probably interrupt the icy flow, break the sonic spell.

Perhaps pointedly, they don't play their signature tune Svefn-G- Englar - the track that features in Vanilla Sky, and subsequently turned on half of Hollywood to this weirdo group. But they do play its B-side, the lovely Virar Vel Til Loftarasa. And then - after an unfussy encore - they come back on and take a bow. Seriously.

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