Agetis Byrjun Review

Released: June 1999
Label: Fat Cat, Smekkleysa
Number Of Tracks: 10
�gætis byrjun was recorded between the summer of 1998 to the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas, and became Sigur Rós's breakthrough album, both critically and commercially.

Sound:	10
Lyrics:	9.5
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.8
Users rating:	9.5
Comments:	24

overall: 10

Featured review by: sigur_ros6, on october 10, 2008

Sound: Recorded in the band's infamous swimming pool studio in Iceland, Agætis byrjun is a pure masterpiece. Running 73 minutes long, Agætis byrjun, which means an alright start, deals with matters of life, death, afterlife and rebirth. Jonsi uses a cello bow for most of the songs creating an atmospheric ambience that is haunting and beautiful; complimented perfectly by beautiful piano melodies and string accompaniments. On top of all of this is Jonsi's singing. Since he primarily sings in a very high falsetto the vocals sound more like another instrument than a traditional singer.

This CD has many very interesting elements to it that you wouldn't expect. For example, the intro track is a riff from the song "Svefn-g-englar", which means angels or sleepwalkers, reversed. Likewise, the last song on the cd, "Avalon", is a riff from the title track "Agætis byrjun", slowed down. In the song, "Ny Batteri," Orri, the drummer, uses a cymbal which he found on the side of the road. A car had run over the cymbal and this gave the cymbal a very clashy quality which suites the song. In the song "Hjartad Hamast" the band experiments with a funky bass line and a harmonica, creating a truly unique Sigur Ros song. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Unlike most of the Sigur Ros albums, Agætis Byrjun has actual lyrics for the majority of their songs instead of the usual "Hopelandish" which is a completely fictional language Jonsi made up. These lyrics, however, are meaningful and match the songs perfectly. Most notably in the song Svefn-g-englar, Jonsi says, “I explode out and the piece is no more, I cry, I cry disconnected."

Vocally this CD is incredible. Jonsi's otherworldly voice soars with great intensity and tenderness. Even if you can't quite understand what he is saying, you can feel it through the passion that he sings with. Considering that Jonsi only became the singer of Sigur Ros because no one else could sing is astonishing. Jonsi's unparalleled falsetto's melt perfectly with the band and are absorbed in the ethereal bliss that is Sigur Ros. // 10

Impression: Agætis Byrjun launched the band to worldwide recognition and this is still one of their best albums to date. With tracks like the mournful yet optimistic Svefn-g-englar, and the calm and peaceful title track, Agætis byrjun, this band established itself as leaders in post-rock music. The wall of ambient feedback produced is nostalgic of wind in rustling through the trees, or waves crashing on the shore. The music is beautiful, haunting, dismal, and optimistic all at once. Ironically the last lyrics on the CD are, ” We sit down, excited, listen to ourselves play the music... But it didn't sound good, we were all in agreement. We'll do better next time. This is an alright start." This is much more than an alright start, it is an incredible album, and a must have for Sigur Ros fans, or post-rock fans in general. // 10

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: gitarzero89, on october 10, 2008

Sound: After 50+ years of being a genre, you'd think that every sound and style that could be achieved within rock music would have been done already. Decades of refinement, plus significant sonic innovation in the 80's and 90's left little room to move forward. Hell, bands like Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk, the Talking Heads, et al. Were making "futuristic music" back in the 70's. Thirty years later, there really isn't left that can be described as "forward-thinking." But Sigur Ros are not a "forward-thinking" band. Their music predates anything that could be considered "rock" - or even "alternative." They're thinking back to the age of strings, harps, piano, orchestral bombast. And it still sounds more futuristic than anything Angels and Airwaves or 30 Seconds To Mars are doing.

A short intro opens the album, providing travel music for the voyage to this distant world. Once you migrate through the pings and muted organ of the first minute of "Svefn-g-englar," you are welcomed by a massive wall of bowed guitar, sounding like a distorted whale's call harmonizing with a horn section. The twinkling piano and sweeping violin of "Staralfur," the pounding cymbals of "Nэ batterн," the melodic bassline of "Olsen Olsen," all float within a wispy atmosphere of ambient noise. And Jуn Birgisson's voice, at times more instrumental than vocal, is rarely anything short of angelic.

While the world of Бgжtis Byrjun is cohesively beautiful, there's also a lot of diversity here, stylistic and emotional. The intro of "Hjartaр hamast (bamm bamm bamm)" blends jazzy keyboard and drums with bluesy harmonica and bowed guitar before morphing into a chorus of soaring strings and vocal harmonies. The blissful grandeur of the climax of "Olsen Olsen" is a sharp contrast to the dark and dramatic "Nэ batterн." The album is consistent in sound, yet holistically presents a wide spectrum of emotion. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Quick point - unless you have an Icelandic dictionary lying about your house (or are from Iceland, of course), you're just simply not going to understand the lyrics on this album. Thankfully, you don't really need to. Jуnsi Birgisson's voice is just another instrument here, and it's probably the most potent weapon in their arsenal. His falsetto soars on "Nэ batterн" and "Olsen Olsen." On the latter he sings in his trademark gibberish language of Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"). The vocals on "Svefn-n-englar" are so beautifully out-of-this-world that you'll wonder if they're even human, and he particularly outdoes himself on "Nэ batterн" and "Olsen Olsen." Even when you can't understand him, Birgisson carries so much emotion that you'll need no further explanation. // 9

Impression: Бgжtis Byrjun is definitive proof that it is possible to look back and move forward. Here, Sigur Ros take classical ideas and instruments and make something startlingly new and fresh, winding up with what remains, even against Takk... and (), their best album. The album packs so many emotions, sounds, experiences and other bits of life into it's 72 minutes that it's really it's own world - and an expansive one at that. This is music at it's largest and purest. Words on a page cannot do it justice - you have to hear Бgжtis Byrjun for yourself. // 10

Comments

[some_guy]

Beautiful.

[korinaflyingv]

Brilliant album. Not quite as good as ( ) though, nothing they've ever written can match the awesomeness of Untitled 8, and nothing they write ever will.

[Ixthyx]

Meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust is too brilliant for words. I love Agetis, but this new stuff is simply tops.

[Nerdo-sez-bo]

Haunting album, truly beautiful.

[shkrmkr]

Agaetis Byrjun is my favourite Sigur Rós album, but Med Sud is amazing too.

By the way, Avalon is a riff from Starálfur.

[sigur_ros6]

yeah sorry about that Avalon is from stratlafur and the intro is the title track reversed

sorry for any confusion

[arondadi]

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust? Yes, I'm from Iceland. Have never really listen to Sigur Rós though. þðæáéíöþæáíöðð

[Okeefe Is Legit]

Woah, my English teacher was talking about this band just today..

[flea878]

Amazing band. Truly genius album. What more is their to be said?

[jiminizzle]

Some of the most beautiful music ever...

[Ace Frehley]

I really believe this is one of their best albums!The music and the feelings they deliver in this album are just great!

[Robert I.]

music as beautiful as this has never before been written, composed and recorded... I can only hope that one day I will have the honor of going to one of their concerts.

Checked.

[Quicksand15]

korinaflyingv wrote:
nothing they've ever written can match the awesomeness of Untitled 8, and nothing they write ever will.

i couldn't have said it better =)
just a perfect song!

[antareus]

Quicksand15 wrote:

korinaflyingv wrote:
nothing they've ever written can match the awesomeness of Untitled 8, and nothing they write ever will.

i couldn't have said it better =)
just a perfect song!

I thought the same thing, and then heard Hjartao Hamast. I count experiencing that song as one of my musical epiphanies and believe it to be on par with Untitled 8.

[Instrumetal]

my favorite album of all time.

[DemonDante]

I love Sigur Rós, but while I love their new stuff, I still adore the Agaetis album above all their other works.

Can't beat what my friend and I call the "Sigros Musicgasm" - such as around 6 minutes into Svefn-g-englar when it all crashes in.

[zteini]

iceland ftw..

[mon_the_fraser]

I love their albums and the poor quality of these articles doesnt reflect their brilliance

[vessib]

ICEEEEELAAAAANNNNNDDDD ROCKS ^^

[BreakingBnj]

Sigur Ros is my bedtime album... It puts you to sleep, always (In the most positive way possible, that is.)

Most beautiful music in the world.

[Small Print]

Staralfur is perfect.

[sigur_ros6]

BreakingBnj wrote:

Sigur Ros is my bedtime album... It puts you to sleep, always (In the most positive way possible,that is.)
Most beautiful music in the world.

you should check out the band hammock. Their album "Maybe they will sing for us tomorrow" is an incredible bedtime album.

[Luming_Hao]

Glad to see they're finally getting the attention they deserve, but I pray that they won't go mainstream.