Customer Reviews
Genius - By: Mr. A. Jaye, 15 Jul 2008 
Id never heard of this 4 piece band until recently & have since purchased 3 of there albums its so unique
Human music beamed in from a distant galaxy - By: russell clarke, 04 Jun 2008 Hearing Sigur Ros for the first time , as most of us did when hearing Agaetis byrjun, is akin, i imagine , to not just hearing music beamed down from another planet but hearing music beamed across from the far side of a far distant galaxy. The sort of thing Star Trek "Voyager" might have heard on their sojourn through the delta quadrant.( the cover , featuring a ballpoint pen drawing by a friend of the band further ratifies the music's alien ambience) The nearest comparison, & i realise that i am being far from being original here, are The Cocteau Twins , though even their celestial otherworldliness does,nt really compare to the Icelandic quartet.
Agaetis byrjun (Icelandic for An alright start) was originally releasedin June 1999 & is actually the bands second album , though i was under the misconception for some considerable time that it was their debut. With reference to the Cocteau Twins comparison their actual debut "Von Brigoi" is actually more like them mixedin with ambient drifts not unlike certain Eno or Seefeel. This album though is virtually unique. The astonishing falsetto vocals of Jon Birgisson soar over his cello bowed guitars & the diffuse keyboards of Kjsrtan Sveinsson . Abyss plunging bass lines keep the whole anchored somewhere adjacent to terra firma.
Further enhancing the music's obtuse quality's are degrees of self-reference. The first track "Intro" is,nt listed on the packaging & while most of the songs are sungin Icelandic ( though , evenin English they would be indecipherable i feel) "Olsen Olsen" is sungin the gibberish language Vonlenska- which the band used for the entire follow up album ( ). The band also pull off sly technical tricks like making the stringsin "Staralfur" palindromic or the fact that "Avalon" isin fact the aforementioned tracked played at a quarter of it,s speed.
Putting all this clever muso mumbo jumbo to one side though the real glory of Sigur Ros is the breathtaking emotional clout of the songs. "Svefn-g- englar" ( It translates as sleepwalkers) is consummately spine tingling -the sort of track i never ever tire of hearing . "Staraflur" has lumpin the throat panoramic strings while on "Flugufrelsarinn" ( The Fly Freer) they are more sombre & elegiac like a Morricone soundtrack.
Agaetis byrjun remains Sigur Ros,s finest achievement, certainly better than the sombre ( ) & while "Takk" was a return to form it never matches the grace & insidious alien textures of this album. Whatever planet, galaxy , cosmos Agaetis byrnum is beamed from it remains a vital thrilling human experience.
ethereal and dreamy... - By: Luis A. Burgoa Trevino, 07 May 2008 After debut album Von appeared domestically, this one was expected to be Sigur Ros' global take over & yes... it was; definitely a perfectly crafted piece, it placed the boys as best current artsy band. Close your eyes & loose yourself over it... pictures of Iceland will come to your head, sometimes as sweet as a lullaby (Svefn-g-englar), sometimes playfully explosive (Olsen-Olsen); a soundtrack for heaven?... I hope so, it would be great to ascend heavens with a score like this... If you are to start with Sigur Ros, get this one first & share it with as much people as possible, you will never regret & you will put some light into the darkness.
Best place to start - By: biffbiffin, 14 Jan 2008 I cannot add any further to what the previous 70 odd reviewers have already said, but being a big fan of Sigur Ros for some years I can advise anyone wishing to purchase this bands music for the first time that this album is the finest place to start. Previous & Subsequent albums are still full of their high quality individual material, but just lackin the variety of content of Agaetis Byrjun.
Art - By: Gudmundur Hegner Jonsson, 22 Oct 2007 I have been a fan of Sigur Ros from the moment I heard Agaetis Byrjun. I have listened to all of their music on & off for several years now & nothing else on the pop/rock scene has even come close to the complexity of their work. You cannot pin it down, you cannot categorise it. Every attempt to do so leaves you feeling awkward & uneasy. The fact that you cannot pin down any of the lyrics or sometimes even distinguish Jonsi's voice from the other instruments is testament to their shapeshifting nature. Sigur Ros toured Iceland this summer (2007) & a documentary by the name of "Heima" (Home) has recently been released. I have waited for my musical Messiah for a long time & now the waiting is over. Thank you Sigur Ros.
