ÁGÆTIS BYRJUN

"Intro" is spacey with vocals then it turns very atmospheric and blends into "Svefn-G-Englar" where the sound is so mighty that it almost vibrates. Guitar 1 1/2 minutes in is monstrous. Vocals after 2 minutes. Drums are more prominant after 6 minutes then violin. "Staralfur" opens softly and builds with piano and strings. Vocals before a minute. Pure emotion 2 1/2 minutes in. Some brief acoustic guitar and reserved vocals then back to previous melody. Classical music 4 1/2 minutes in. Themes are repeated and then it gets experimental after 6 minutes. "Flugu Frelsarinn" sounds so good with that powerful undercurrent. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. Great track ! "Ny Batteri" is minimalistic with horns coming and going until we start to get a melody around 2 minutes.Vocals follow.This is very laid back but I really like it. Lots of atmosphere. It kicks into a higher gear before 5 1/2 minutes with drums. Horns are back a minute later as it calms back down.

"Hjartao Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)" opens with piano and harmonica. This is SIGUR ROS ? A fuller sound before a minute followed by vocals. Some back up vocals on this one as well. An interesting song. I like the experimentation 6 1/2 minutes in to the end. "Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa" opens with feedback and other sounds. Piano after a minute and it builds. Strings after 3 minutes and it gets spacey. Vocals 5 minutes in. It settles after 7 minutes then builds to an emotional and powerful soundscape 8 minutes in. Some dissonance late. "Olsen Olsen" opens with vocal melodies that sound far off. Drums and a fairly deep soundscape take over. Vocal melodies are back. This all sounds so amazing. So rich and full. "Agaetis Byrjun" is uplifting to start. Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes. "Avalon" is 4 minutes of spacey sounds.

I personally feel that SIGUR ROS improved upon this album with "( )" and "Takk" but this is the foundation, and many feel this is their best. It's hard to argue against that.

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