Ágætis byrjun
Ágætis byrjun
Sigur Rós
Tracks:
Intro
Svefn-g-englar
Starálfur
Flugufrelsarinn
Ný batterí
Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm)
Viðrar vel til loftárása
Olsen olsen
Ágætis byrjun
Avalon
Just as a warning, I'll try and go through each track and describe it, but, honestly, Sigur Ros is beyond description. You just need to listen to it, there's really nothing like it.
Hailing from Iceland, Sigur Rós' debut album, Von, was an alright start for the band in 1997 (which they quite obviously agree with, as the translation of "Ágætis byrjun" is, literally, "An alright start"). In the process of studio work the album became less music and more pretty atmospheric background noise. This all changed with the release of Ágætis byrjun in 1999. Filled with atmosphere, flowing strings, and enough imagery to fill books and books, the album was and still is considered one of the greatest albums of all time.
The disc begins with "Intro," fading in with manipulated voice clips and ending in a low rumble, filled every few seconds with a synth "ring" of sorts. Ending at a mere 1:36 long, the song seamlessly blends into the following track, and serves as a well executed introduction for the album.
The next track, Svefn-g-englar, or "Sleepwalkers," is about as close to the divine I think any music can get. With Jonsi using a cello bow on his guitar as usual, and the continuous ring every so many beats, the song is rather hard to describe, but I think the word "angelic" works just fine.
The following song is Starálfur, or "Staring Elf." Various noises along with amazing strings start the song off with incredible atmsophere, only enhanced by Jonsi's falsetto vocals. The song ends with a huge orchestra piece, which fades away with only Jonsi's voice still singing. Afterwards an odd sort of grumbling noise fades in until the end of the track, blending into the next, Flugufrelsarinn.
Flugufrelsarinn, or "The Fly Freer," begins with synth keyboards and quickly escelates into the bowed guitar. Not my favorite on the album, but still an excellent song. The feel is darker than the previous two songs, and it also has some very nice vocals by Jonsi. The song ends and, once again, fades seamlessly into the following track.
Ný batterí, which translates to "New Batteries," begins with sparse brass, sound effects and a bit of flute, feeling very barren. Guitar and more bowing follow, revealing the melody. However, this song climaxes at a few points - displaying some of the most excellent use of drums I've ever heard - and this is where it really shines. I didn't like this song too much at first, but it really grew on me. Much darker than the previous tracks.
Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm), or "The Heart Pounds (Boom Boom Boom)" is easily one of the oddest yet most-likable songs on the entire album. Featuring a deep bass line and, of all things, a harmonica, this song continues with the great drum use and provides a good "pounding" feel, which fits in nicely with the title. Around halfway and again for the ending, the song transfers into a dramatic, meloncholy-ridden portion, without any percussion and laiden with strings and grumbling sound effects. The song ends with a very odd but very nice sound, similiar to static or something... I'm not quite sure, but it has a nice ending all the same.
The next track, Viðrar vel til loftárása (aka "Good weather for airstrikes," which you might recognize as my location), is incredibly beautiful. After some sound effects, a wonderful piano line slowly fades in, laden with clever pauses and a feeling of bittersweet. The piano is eventually joined by bass, strings, and of course Jonsi's amazing voice, resulting in an incredibly emotion-filled piece. As the song progresses, it becomes louder, firmer, and more dramatic, and features I think
the best ending to a song I have ever heard. Slowly the drumbs and other insturments die out, leaving just the strings, which begin playing unnaturals and purposefully losing key, going out with a bang into organized chaos that finally comes to a stop. You just need to listen to it to really know what I'm talking about. Probably my favorite track on the whole CD, although that's a very hard choice.
Olsen Olsen is sung entirely in "Hopelandic," which is essentially jibberish. However, the mood quickly returns to the angelic-like atmosphere featured in Svefn-g-englar. Not much to say, besides the flute returns and sounds wonderful, and the song features a very nice bass line and melody in general.
Ágætis byrjun is probably my least favorite on the entire CD, but even then it's a really nice song. Great guitar is featured throughout the whole song (I adore the squeeky noise from sliding fingers on the string, but that's just me). Another nice ending (I think I'm starting to see a trend...) and obviously the song also has great vocals from Jonsi (again). It's just not my favorite from the album, there's not anything inherantly wrong with it.
Avalon finishes off the album, and to be honest, I don't really know how to describe this song. It has a bunch of lingering notes, and odd time signature and lots of bass, but it's still a very good insturmental. A fitting end for the album (although I think Viðrar vel til loftárása would have made a better end, but hey).
All in all, this CD is fantastic. It's not neccesarily for everyone (aka it's for open-minded, listens-to-more-than-linkin-park people), but it's an incredibly beautiful, atmospheric, artist and unique album that's sure to tickle your fancy if you have any taste at all (sorry dears, it's the truth). If you see it, pick it up. Also, just as a note, this album is much better when listened to on a CD player with the CD, rather than iTunes or a similiar program, because the tracks are meant to flow seamlessly together, and they sort of don't on iTunes or an mp3 player, and as a result alot is lost. The album is more like one large song, rather than each track being it's own. Just a tip, though.
Grade: A+