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| Life is a journey. Sigur Ros’ second album, Agaetis Byrjun (“Good Start”), provides the mystical soundtrack for that journey. Having heard about the album but at the time unreleased in the United States, I found Agaetis Byrjun in Edinburgh at the Scottish independent music store, Fopp. The search for the album was well worth the effort. The experience the album provides is complete, whether observed in an ancient cathedral, coaxed as a lullaby, or played on a train ride across the Scottish plains. The sound defies simple classification. Neither rock nor pop, Agaetis Byrjun creates sensation and longing without the usual tools of universal lyrics and chords. The music flows over and around the body, as if simultaneously lifting and pressing its vibrations against the skin. With its Icelandic lyrics (and no current translations) and invented words, Agaetis Byrjun directs the mind into the mind’s own interpretation and emotions, not dictating, but gently guiding with powerful vocals and sounds. The music envelopes. The eerie, unintelligible words may lack in concrete definitions, yet they surge with meaning. The Icelandic quintet, comprised of vocalist and guitarist Jon Thor Birgisson, bassist Georg Holm, keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, and drummer Orris Pall Dyrason, add flutes, stringed instruments, horns and the accordion into their music. The sound is eclectic and unique. The varied instruments become delicately layered, supporting one another as if musical sections in a symphony. At times, the instruments drastically increase or decrease in tempo, speeding or slowing the songs. The change in tempo influences the feeling and emotions produced by the track. And like a symphony, the songs often undergo multiple highs and lows within the individual track, with “sections” of the instruments emerging and disappearing to create these changes. To effectively incorporate these highs and lows, the tracks are often twice as long as typical pop songs. “Ny Batteri,” at a length of over seven minutes, serves as an example. Opening slowly with guitar, vocals, and distant horns, the track has three major crescendos, where the drums enter and the horns and guitars increase in loudness. The first crescendo only begins at approximately four minutes into the song. Sigur Ros often toy with the instruments’ sounds, adding an even more unique element to their music. The guitars play like violins and the drums like cymbals. Birgisson forgoes plucking his strings by using a bow, distorting and elongating the notes. Birgisson’s voice eludes gender. His vocals morph from mermaid to whale to bird to child. In “Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa,” Birgission sounds as if he is singing through the rain, muffled by his own predicament. His voice emerges as an instrument, moving the songs in new directions. Sigur Ros also use background choir-like vocals to support the song’s climaxes.
Sigur Ros create, through the music on Agaetis Byrjun, an innovative and distinct sound by combining once distant elements. While the album may not be mass marketable or radio friendly, the album’s power will likely influence the direction of rock music. Just as a symphony permits the audience members to emerge from the experience with their own personal experience, Agaetis Byrjun encourages the listener to make the music his/her own personal soundtrack.
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