The band had to cancel most scheduled appearances on this summer’s European festival circuit because the recording of their new album took longer than expected. Now, the musicians are making up with lost time with a lengthy tour.

The trek starts October 1 in London and ventures around the U.K, Ireland and the Continent through the month before crossing the sea to North American.

Sigur Rós will visit “thankfully small cozy theatres” across the States and Canada through the end of November.

There’s speculation the band will participate in the annual CMJ Music Marathon convention in New York City, but there is no confirmation as to a date or venue.

The tour is in support of the group’s latest album, (insert the title of your choice here).

No, really.

The disc has no title – as noted by the empty parentheses that appear on the cover. According to Sigur Rós, “The object on the cover is open to interpretation; for example, maybe it’s an emphasis on the album’s untitle, an invitation to each individual person to fill up the ( ) with their own album title, hence the space in between.”

The eight-song release is divided into two parts with the first four songs comprising the “quiet” half and the second half featuring the “heavy” tunes.

Live clips of the songs are available for download on the band’s official Web site: www.sigur-ros.co.uk.

Lead singer Jonsi’s “Hopelandic” language, a product of his imagination, is prevalent once again. At this point in career, no one should be surprised that the tracks on the third Sigur Rós album don’t have identifiable words and the 12-page booklet insert is blank; fans are invited to write in their own lyrics.