Agaetis Byrjun (Sigur Ros in general)

Member Name: hulahoop

Product:	Sigur Ros in general
Date:	27/02/01 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: la de da

Disadvantages: doo dee doo

It is difficult to write an opinion about something you really love when you can’t quite express why it is that you love it. I can’t pick any holes in this album, and other people I know who have heard it love it too - even my Neil-Diamond-fan mum (not knocking Neil Diamond - he rocks :o) )

This is definitely something to chill out to. The Icelandic Sigur Ros (which apparently means Victory Rose) create ethereal masterpieces luxuriously layered with instruments and strange sounding vocals.

‘Svern g-englar’ sounds like your CD is skipping or going backwards, and because it is sung in Icelandic you may feel a little disorientated listening to it! It is short and merges into ‘Stavalfar’ which starts with a background noise like a slow breeze drifting over a microphone. Lingering organ chords and keyboard sounds combine with soft but heavy distorted guitar and child-like, relaxed voice. It is a slow song whose peaks and troughs take you with them on a zombified journey through their music. I was totally blown away by the amazing sounds that they achieved on this track when I first heard it. I listen to the album walking along the street and it seems to change everything around me into some strange rhythmical world which reacts to the startling music, and I feel like I’m in a music video!

‘Stavalfar’ changes mood from the light and airy into a dense guitar and male vocals piece, and then back again. It ends with a minute long instrumental which is just a distorted sound with a changing pace synthetic heart beat dubbed over the top. If you listen to this on headphones it will make your whole body vibrate!!

‘Flugufrelsarinn’ is my favourite track, combining a slow string section and vocals with the occasional sample and keyboard sound, and then distorted acoustic guitar. It is so moving I could almost be brought to tears(!!) by the strings alone. I really love the juxtap
osition of the strings with the acoustic guitar, and then the synthesised bass drum, which sounds like fireworks or gunfire, and really adds to the drama of the song.

‘Ny batteri’ blends in from that, providing more similar sounds and dark tone, plus features like shimmering drums and reverb vocals.

‘Hjarto hamast’ begins with an array of overlaid horns being blown randomly, which reminds me of New Years Eve parties and fog horns. It is superseded by a muted electric guitar and a slow pace song and vocals which goes on for a couple of minutes. This changes into a heavy drum beat and cymbals, and a generally faster heavier song. All the time the horns echo in the background randomly. The atmosphere of the song is built up and dropped and then suddenly taken up again in a constant battle. The horns play the song out and into the next song, which combines keyboard and harmonicas, giving a false sense of funk, that leads back into the whirring grinding electric guitars.

‘Vioar vel tl Loftarasa’ uses piano and guitar in a similar way, but moves the song into a more optimistic piece backed with strings and slide guitar. ‘Olsen olsen’ begins with heavy but simple guitar rifts that sound quite Mogwai-esque. Again, the vocals and tone are similar to those throughout the album, as they are in the final tracks, ‘Agaetis Byrjun’ and Avalon. The dual guitars in ‘Agaetis byrjun’ and all of sound are layered beautifully with the same high-pitched wavering vocals. This song is really moving.

The final song ‘Avalon’ begins with sounds that remind me of the soundtrack to Blade Runner because they are so synthetic. The background also opens with an amazing purring cat sample. It is very calming, and develops into a strange discordant violin sound that whirrs slowly along. This track is a short 2 minutes compared to the near 10 minute-ers on the rest of the LP,
but is no less effective.

The Icelandic vocals and European sound of this album may put people off it, and also its tremendous depth may not be for all, but I really enjoy its tone, and the fact that you can hear something new each time you listen to it. The Icelandic language makes the songs mysterious and you can try to guess what the lyrics are about by listening to the tone of the song, or by picking out English sounding words. The sound of the Icelandic lyrics is so expressive and interesting that I can’t help but be overwhelmed by it all.

Summary: