Ágætis byrjun is Sigur Rós second LP, originally released by Smekkleysa in 1999, receiving later worldwide distribution from Fat Cat in May of 2001.
SIGUR ROS AGAETIS BYRJUN GENIUS FREE
Although they are often tagged as the next Radiohead, it was the supergroup’s vocalist, Thom Yorke, who said Sigur Ros’ earlier work laid the groundwork for the lugubrious analog purr “Kid-A. Sigur Rós 'Ágætis Byrjun': Bjartar vonir rætast Er við göngum bæinn Brosum og hlæjum glaðir Vinátta og þreyta mætast Höldum up. Listen free to Sigur Rós Ágætis byrjun (Intro, Svefn-g-englar and more).
When Birgisson sings, his mesmerizing falsetto sounds like something between a choirboy and a very, very lonely whale. Amid the minimal drumming and cathedral organ, vocalist Jon Thor Birgisson pulls a cello bow across his electric guitar while vocal effects flutter around a doleful piano. Sigur Ros (“Victory Rose” in Icelandic) play experimental chamber-rock with slow-burning intensity and dense, cavernous atmospherics. These postcard shots may have held no influence over the foursome from Reykjavik, but their music is undeniably as blue, blissful and baffling as the landscape. When listening to Icelandic postrock outfit Sigur Ros, it’s easy to conjure up romantic images of their homeland: frosted clouds framing a cobalt sky, ice monoliths frozen stoically over ancient lava plains, muffled blasts of the geothermal powerhouse deep below.