More Icelandic warblings by the worlds leading ice-flow hipster

I have a suspicion that there is a correlation between the sound of a band, and the sort of surroundings they see when they look out the window. Built up affluent cities lead to fast, insistent tunage.  More industrial townships (like the German old-school metalworking towns) lead to slower, more pounding beats. When you start to move out into the country, the pace of life slows down, and so does the music – there is a greater sense of peace, as well as the constant danger of banjo attack* But the point of this rambling theory is Iceland. Iceland seems to be a magical place, full of wonder and a pearlescent sheen that covers everything like a cross between a travel agents and a perfume advert. I say this because all the music that comes out of Iceland is beauty incarnate – melodies so delicate they feel like they would break if you even looked at them; singing so ethereal that you’re pretty sure the singer isn’t entirely human. Bjork, Sigur Ros, Seabear... the best word I can think to sum them all up is atmospheric. Two new albums have dropped out of Iceland recently, so I thought it high time to give the Icelanders some love! So here is part one, ‘Go’ by Jonsi

I don’t blame you if you don’t immediately recognise the name of Jonsi. But queue up any of his songs, and you’ll certainly recognise his sound – close your eyes and you could swear blind you were listening to a Sigur Ros album. And you’d be pretty much right – Jonsi (real name Jón Þór Birgisson, according to the wonders of Wikipedia) is the lead singer of Sigur Ros, a band well known for creating music so beautiful it makes Helen of Troy look like Gordon Brown on a bad hair day. ‘Go’ is his first solo effort, and is as beautiful and meticulously crafted a record as you’d expect from the one responsible for Sigur Ros’ delicate melodies. Starting with the upbeat duo of ‘Go Do’ and ‘Animal Arithmetic’, the 9 tracks making up Go show a far greater emphasis on pop than Sigur Ros - most of the cuts have a renewed urgency about them that will be quite refreshing to anyone tired of 9-minute minimalist epics. But make no mistake, this is still Sigur Ros through and through. Indeed, taking the two side-by-side, it becomes clear that Jonsi is the main force behind Sigur Ros’ songwriting – the ethereal harmonies, the stratospheric vocals... this is a Sigur Ros album by any other name. Compare for instance the beautifully quiet and delicate "Grow Til Tall" with Sigur Ros’ equally lovely “Svefn-g-englar” – the stylistic similarities are very clear. Jonsi has swapped things up this time around though – as I mentioned earlier the stronger focus on pop lends itself to more upbeat tunes than his main band, and you’ll definitely find yourself falling asleep less through this album! ‘Go’ also sees Jonsi experimenting more with different languages – Sigur Ros famously wrote sang several of their albums in a made up language called ‘Hopelandic’ – a kind of bastardisation of Icelandic and gibberish. It’s undeniable that it added to the mystery and beauty of the songs, but it also formed a barrier between the band and the listeners. You couldn’t become as involved with the songs, because the vocals became just another layer of texture, rather than an anchor or a story holding the framework of the music together. ‘Go’ sees him singing more in his native Icelandic (which he also did for the latest Sigur Ros – clearly he's forgotten how to speak Hopelandic!) and with increasing snatches of English – ‘Tornado’ talks of the protagonist exploding like a volcano and laying waste to everything as a tornado, and while it’s still difficult to follow the thread of the stories (if indeed any do exist) it helps create a feeling that you actually know a bit of what's going on inside his head.

I guess my recommendation on this album comes down to a simple question - do you like Sigur Ros? If you like them, you will like this album, simple as that. It's a wonderful distillation of what makes Sigur Ros fantastic, while eliminating some of the gumpf that may have turned people away from them in the past. And if you don't like Sigur Ros... well then have a listen anyway - it's also a fantastic pop record in it's own right.

Tune in next week (or whenever I manage to get round to it) and I'll take you through "We Built A Fire" by Seabear! See you there!


* herds of wild banjos are a common sight throughout the heavily rural areas of the US, as well as parts of Cornwall and Norfolk. While weak individually, they are deadly in packs