Icelanders have at least one ray of hope in the midst of the crippling economic depression that descended upon the icy island paradise last year -- the non-Björk pride of its indie music scene, premier dream-rockers Sigur Rós, has announced that its follow-up to 2008's Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (TMT Review) is nearing completion. That album was a bit of a departure for the band, and drummer Orri Páll Dyrason says, via the Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise site, "the music (will be) melodic but much less noisy and more ‘out there’ than previous albums." Stack that comment up next to the rest of the band's discography and, well, we still pretty much have no idea what it will sound like.

The album is set for release sometime next year, but if you're jonesin' for some Jónsi (Birgisson, Sigur Rós lead singer) before then, remember that his solo album is in the works, and his Riceboy Sleeps album is dropping July 20 (TMT News).