Signs of Life 2004

Delivering one of the most baffling, brilliant records of 2004, Madame GuÃmundsdottir steers her vessel into the icy waters of minimalist, choral-drenched semi-madness. Fortunately, this record isn’t the goth-crazy loner in high school who wore his sister’s black eye shadow to get attention. It’s the Paris high-fashion runway model who confidently sports a pot holder on her shaved-and-tattooed head, and inexplicably makes it work. Pop music had this one coming.