Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun (1999)

Dan:

It's not often that I get gob smacked by any kind of music, but that's the trendy word I'd use to describe my first encounter with Sigur Rós and their album Ágætis Byrjun. As usual, Steve loaned it to me figuring I needed to expand my horizons a bit further. He's got a pretty good hit rate in finding things I like. But I was skeptical about an Icelandic band that sings in a language they invented (Hopelandic) and was described as "post rock," the first time I heard of that genre.

The opening track on Ágætis Byrjun is the 1:36 minute almost inaudible "Intro." "Svefn-g-engla" follows with a few pings from a keyboard and some rich chords from what sounds like an organ. Then a torrent of sound begins to state a melody that moves from one massive shape to another, pierced by a high-pitched falsetto voice singing words that actually don't need any translation to make their impact. Thus begins what has become one of the favorite tracks in my entire collection.

The singer is named Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, and he apparently has a huge fan base. His mates are Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson (drums), Georg Hólm (bass), and Kjartan Sveinsson (keyboards). It seems impossible that a quartet playing conventional rock instruments could produce such thunderous sounds behind one of the purest singing voices I've heard. (Perhaps the inability to understand the lyric leads me to focus on vocal quality?) Whatever the case, this band is unique and highly skilled at reaching a mass audience.

Some of the mystery surrounding the wall of sound (with apologies to the Grateful Dead) is Jónsi's use of a violin bow to play his guitar. I had never seen anyone do that until I saw the DVD of a live concert included with Inni (2011), a live album by Sigur Rós. Much of the DVD is filmed to convey a sense of mystery over the band, for example by blurring shots of the band and filming in black and white. That approach seems fitting to me. 

The rest of Ágætis Byrjun runs through a set of original songs played at different meters with wide dynamics. The variety makes for a great album program and sealed the band's reputation as a leading voice in the post-rock genre.

I eventually borrowed Steve's other Sigur Rós albums: Von (1997), ( ) (2002), Taak... (2005), Inni (2011), Valtari (2012), and Keivkur (2013). I also downloaded the 2-hour-and-28-minute Sigur Rós Presents Liminal Sleep, and most recently ÁTTA (2023). ÁTTA currently receives the most listening time and will be reviewed later in the blog. For the curious, I suggest beginning with Ágætis Byrjun and investigate as many others as you like, but not missing ( ) and Valtari. There's quite a bit of variety across albums, so it's normal to have favorites among them. 

I would add that Liminal Sleep is not actually a new album; it's literally music to put you to sleep and was assembled by reprocessing sounds from the band's earlier works. It's more interesting than the sound of a refrigerator motor or air conditioning fan, but not by much. 

Steve:

Along with Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós were among the first bands I latched onto once I discovered the post-rock world in the late 2000s. Of the three, Sigur Rós have always been the most mysterious to me; it's often hard to believe the sounds are being produced by a four-piece rock band. Some of this unusual sound comes from the bowed guitar, as Dan points out, but the fragile textures are also the product of a light but nimble touch on the part of bass, drums, and keyboards.  

The 2002 album ( ) remains my favorite album of theirs, but I believe that Ágætis Byrjun is the best introduction to the band; indeed the title translates roughly as "A Good Start". Despite the lengthy nature of most of the tracks, each is easy to enjoy - provided you adjust your mindset to the "heavenly" position. Even the louder sections on this album show remarkable finesse and attention to sweet melodies. One of the more dynamic tracks to showcase their stylistic range is "Ný batterí" ("New Batteries"), built on a gentle bed of bass notes, gradually building to a spirited conclusion with an insistent drum pulse and horn accompaniment, with the horns eventually taking over the arrangement to the fadeout.

I am also very partial to "Olsen Olsen" (not about Mary-Kate and Ashley, to my knowledge, though that would be funny) for its rolling, optimistic 6/8 meter. Like "Ný batterí" it is propelled by a repeated bass line, and as the song develops it acquires a rich orchestral arrangement that is very impressive.  

A relaxed state of mind certainly helps when listening to this band. The experience is unlike that of most bands, even those in the post-rock world. It's deeply emotional music but it's not clear exactly what emotions are being conveyed. I've heard some describe this music as overwhelmingly sad, but others describe it as joyful, hopeful and uplifting. Listeners will definitely feel something; beauty in music, as in nature, comes in many forms.