Sigur Rós – Ágætis byrjun (1999)

This was the first Sigur Rós album I heard and it's still my favourite. I've heard from many other people that they've fallen in love with whichever was the first Sigur Rós album they heard. I guess this band is so unique that the first time you hear it, it's something magical and like nothing else you've heard before, but when you hear another album, it's not that new any more. I do think though, that this album has something very special even compared to other Sigur Rós albums. The album cover with a foetus with wings and no band or album title looks fantastic. It has undoubtedly been a really courageous thing to have an album cover without the band title for a band that wasn't particularly well known at the time of this album's release. But Sigur Rós really is a band that is a master of hiding their true identity by just letting the music speak for itself.



This was kind of proven to be true also by their live show that I saw at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki after their Takk... album. The band was playing most of the gig behind a translucent sheet where there was video material projected. To this day, I don't really know what the band members look like when they play.

None of the band's music videos show the band playing either. Their videos are pieces of art. They often have a social or environmental message in them and the videos are really artfully made. From this album I remember Svefn-g-englar video the best. In the video, a bunch of people with Down syndrome play on a field. They're dressed as angels and look so happy that it makes me very emotional watching them. This is very common for a Sigur Rós video. Getting emotional I mean. This albums songs were also used in a great Wes Anderson Film The Life Aquatic. The scene where the submarine is stuck at the bottom of the ocean and Starálfur is playing is just amazing.

I have to talk a bit more about Starálfur. That's probably my all time favourite Sigur Rós song. The strings are just amazing and together with Jónsi's singing, it sounds heavenly. There are also great different parts in the song that change the mood. I also like the one line in the lyrics that sounds a lot like Finnish. I always hear it as 'Miksen tajuu mä mitään ollenkaan' (Why don't I understand anything at all). I have no idea what the original Icelandic lyrics mean, but I feel like the made-up Finnish sentence kind of makes sense in a song like this. Another thing worth mentioning about this song is that the strings are palindromic. They're exactly the same played backwards.

Another amazing song on this album is Ný Batterí. This is probably the darker of all of the songs on this album and there are some loud cymbals and guitar walls as well, that kind of sets it apart of all the other songs. The song starts really ominously and quietly but explodes into amazing noises towards the end. If I were to mention more songs, Flugufrelsarinn would be right next on the list. This song has a great use of echoes and electric guitar played on a bow. Also Viðrar vel til loftárása is an amazing song. It has some great use of slide guitars and muffled vocals.

Sigur Rós used to be a really important band to me about ten years ago and it still is. Whenever I really dedicate time to listen to their music I get that magical sensation I first got when I first heard this band. I hope Sigur Rós will go down in history as a completely unique band that made music that no-one else could even dream about before they made it. Alone the fact that a band that sings in ancient Icelandic or a made-up language became world wide sensation is a proof that you really do need to know this band. In my view, this is the best album to start.

Listen to the album on Spotify.