Ágætis Byrjun

oh wooooaaaaaaw this is the kind of thing I was hoping to find on this excursion. An unusual and exotic band, something I have never heard before and instantly have a connection with. I really enjoyed this, and can't understand a word he is singing... but somehow I get it. Isn't music just amazing. gibberish out of 5

The sound of midnight in the wintertime, being alone without being lonely, a calm darkness with nothing insidious hiding in it. Absolutely marvelous.

The most demanding album I've come across so far on this generator. 1. It demands to be listened to with headphones. 2. It demands to have your undivided attention, while doing very little to grab it and hold on to it. 3. It demands you stay awake throughout the album, which too is no easy feat. 4. It demands you look up the English translations and make an attempt to decipher it's cryptic lyrics to follow the themes and stories. 5. It demands that you be in a certain type of melancholic, vegetative mood, but again, do not drift off to sleep! I'm sure for the listeners able to meet the above 5 demands, it would be a very rewarding listen. Unfortunately for me, I could only really meet 2/5 on any given day.

Sigur Ros is Icelandic for Sugar Ray.

Ágætis byrjun by Sigur Rós (1999) It’s a rare album that can induce tears on a first listen, but this is it. A first person narrative beginning in the womb, a boy anticipates nativity with an awareness of transience, reticence, impatience, and the explosive violence of birth, followed by experiences of the comforting softness in his early sensations. Then, as a toddler, an awakening in his nursery room is marked by the image of an elf running toward him, strangely without getting closer. And in his reflexive effort to check his surroundings, he notices that something is missing—the walls. And we’re only four minutes into the third track. I strongly recommend listening to this album while following an English translation of the lyrics (unless, of course, you know Icelandic!). The dramatic development of the narrative is set to a composition that makes just enough contact with Western traditional music to keep it accessible, with string octet, bowed guitar, and brass ensemble providing the dominant settings. Not without horror, disappointment, and reverie, Sigur Rós walks us toward a celebratory contentment with what God provides. I won’t spoil any more of the experience of a first listen, other than to say that this slow tempo sonic masterpiece will take considerable time to absorb. En það verður ei gott að fórna sér Dagarnir eru langir (But someone has to sacrifice himself The days are long) 5/5

Ágætis Byrjun is a triumph of engineering and arrangement, but most of all, it's a triumph of imagination. For sure, you can trace Sigur Ros' antecedents in My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, and other similar post-rock bands, as well as ambient and industrial music, but the widescreen cinematic dreamscapes of Sigur Ros are unique to them. How do they pull it off? It sure isn't the melodies and the harmonies, which are standard issue. It's more the ever so patient accrual of layers of bowed guitar, keyboards, strings and horns, all played legato, and how all of it is recorded through echo and reverb and other production tricks. The breakout track is the title cut Svefn-g-englar, which steadily builds to an epic conclusion slowly dying away. At over ten minutes, it's long for a pop tune, but the running time goes by in a flash because the music lulls you into a trance state. Not all the tunes on Ágætis Byrjun are as timeless and wonderful, but there's plenty to enjoy here. Ágætis Byrjun is an amazing breakthrough which has inspired dozens of bands--the reverberations are still being felt today. 4.5/5

-Aged very well -Calm and soothing -Clear production -Easylistening

Agaetis Byjurn and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are 2 of the most well received records that do absolutely nothing for me. I know the orchestration sounds terrific, and the strings, pianos, flutes create beautiful harmonies, but it's just incredibly boring to me. I will not listen to 9 minutes of pretentious ambient noises to wait for a climax that won't come, in a language that I don't understand again, to see why people love this so much. 2/5.

This is what the northern lights would sound like if they made music.

Unremarkable orchestral stuff with dreary guitar stuff and whiny vocals. I saw these guys live when I was going through a brief post-rock phase. They put on a big visual spectacle show, but I honestly can't remember what I ever enjoyed about the music. I guess it felt like serious, artistic music to me at the time, and I was a try-hard. But it's really the most insipid elements of ambient, classical and rock brewed together into a weak and unsatisfying infusion. Couple of interesting brass moments, and one or two tracks were the vocals actually sound alright - but these are dribbles of interest in an overlength ocean of tedium.

Ethereal Millenial Soundscape. Very cool all around, a little hard to listen to all the time. Very, Very good though.

Feel like I aged 100 years listening to this. In a good way

I thought I would like this more than I did.

-it feels like a dream converted into an album -orchestral -beautiful -atmosphehric -love the themes of childbirth and naivity -this is (near) perfect -I almost started crying -favourite songs: Svefn-g-englar (<3), Starálfur, Ný batterí, Hjartað Hamast (<3), Viðrar vel til loftárása (<3), Olsen Olsen (<3), the title track (<3) -least favourite song: Intro

Listening to this album, waiting for something that never happens. Letdown.

I have absolutely no idea what this is, and I love it. Whenever I see an album from the late 90s pop up that I've never heard of before, I can't help for my initial reaction to be dread. I have received so much shit from that era from really underground bands and artists to the point where I just assume that I've discovered all the good music from the late 90s, and everything else sucks. But this album has proved me wrong. Every song rewards you for listening to the whole thing, and slowly builds until it reaches an epic climax. Even though I don't speak a word of Icelandic, the intensely passionate delivery of the vocals makes me love them. I initially found it daunting that this album was 10 songs and 71 minutes long, that means that each song averages at about 7 minutes. But you know what, if anything that's the best part of it. Being able to really explore every sound in every song to such depth, and slowly add layers that build perfectly throughout the songs. I never would have thought that I would have fallen in love with this album as much as I have, but I do love occasionally getting a reminder that there is still music out there that I have never heard of that is still this amazing. It's so easy to get caught up in always listening to the same things and not realising how much music there actually is in the world that's still really good. But hey, I suppose that's the reason we are all doing this album list at the end of the day.

Excellent,dreamy, original.

Ooh, this was honestly the definition of atmospheric. Made me feel at peace. Singer is brilliant. 4.

A womb with a view. I eat placenta on a daily basis. It goes best with vinegar and brown rice. Yum.

When this was released I thought it was deep and emotional but upon relistening it appears fucking insufferable. Nice music, but those vocals? Drunken elves.

Long and Boring. That’s all I can say about this album.

wow

Reminds me of a more electronic version of Pink Floyd in their golden era. Tracks like Flugufrelsarinn have surprisingly similar textures to those of 70s prog, including slow, smooth basslines, thick synth soundscapes, and music that isn't primarily focused on vocals. The drumming also reminds me of 90s alt-rock in places. There are a variety of influences here, and they work pretty darn well together. Also present are many seamless shifts in mood within tracks, and some The Wall-esque track transitions that really glue together the album into a singular piece of art. The little melodies in the synths, guitars, and winds are fun. The strongest melodies are in Svefn-g-englar (it didn't get annoying, surprisingly!) and Olsen Olsen (the little flute coda is such a fun way to end the track). There isn't much to criticise about the album. Maybe the production could be a little more sharp, particularly in the instruments with varied frequency (vocals and percussion). Somebody might also argue that the album commits to a specific fantasy-winter theme (supported in part by the lyrics) and refuses to deviate from that, though I think that's a strength rather than a downfall. With Ágætis Byrjun, Sigur Rós have nearly perfected this strange, wonderful genre that, in my opinion, is one of the better ones. It's certainly some of the best 90s output I've heard. 5/5 Key tracks: Svefn-g-englar, Starálfur, Olsen Olsen

I really liked this. The ambient portions of the overall sound make me want to replay Disco Elysium.

Highlights: Starálfur, Flugufrelsarinn, Viðrar vel til loftárása I have no idea what they're saying, or what language (It's Icelandic, in case you were wondering) but it doesn't make any difference because Sigur Rós' moody, atmospheric downtempo transcends language, invoking a sense of wonder and serenity. I can't help but to try and connect with the music...My own interpretation is that Starálfur ("Staring Elf") transports the listener to a celebratory fireworks display so lifelike, you can almost smell the sulfur and feel the night breeze on your cheeks. Flugufrelsarinn ("The Fly's Savior") continues later in the same night, deeper in the dark, at the water's edge. My interpretations don't really matter, though... This is right at home with the likes of Halou, Flunk, Zero 7, and Theivery Corporation, and will be including more in my downtempo playlists.

Vous qui fréquentez ce site connaissez très bien mes goûts et ma personnalité. Et je pense qu'aucun d'entre vous n'aurait parié sur le fait que je puisse adorer cet album. C'est pourtant ce qui s'est passé. J'ai néanmoins été déçu d'apprendre que les paroles qu'ils baragouinaient n'étaient en rien de l'Islandais mais bien une langue inventée de toute pièce, ce qui ne m'a pas empêché de relever quelques fautes de grammaire.

Music to stare at icebergs to.

This album is a snoozefest... but it sounds beautiful and has great production. If you like loooooong instrumental, dreamy songs with random singing , then you will love this. It is unfortunately not my thing, cool fetus though.

Radiohead and its consequences have been a complete disaster for the music industry.

One long beautiful dream scape....I couldn't get thru it. Sounded like a soundtrack for a stunning visual IMAX movie. Good background music for doing something.....

A little dull, sometimes repetitive. Cinematic, but what’s the point?

You could probably sleep to this. Very slow, quiet songs. All in Icelandic or whatever.

Mental icelandic orchestral cinematic sounds. The singing is a bit irritating. I liked the batteri and bamm bamm bamm

This album is just too slow for my liking. Not really a fan.

This album starts off like a tornado and smacks you in the chops. It’s loud and brash and in your face. It’s thrashy and punky and a little bit screamy. Normally this combination would induce an excited curiosity from myself and these tracks did just that...but that was all. I just can’t find anything worthwhile or standoutish. The songs speed along happily enough, but leave you feeling unsatisfied and with an empty void. 2 Stars!

weird shit

Well, I heard it. I guess I can die. What a difficult listen. The etherealness gets old quickly. The random screeching is grating. And then I found out on wikipedia that they are often not even speaking Icelandic, instead they coined a term for the gibberish they're speaking as "Vonlenska". I bet these people enjoy smelling their own farts. 1 star (only because zero isn't an option), and no I didn't need to hear this before I die.

I have to clear my recently listened so nothing like this comes up again.

Radiohead+pink Floyd but make it shit

I get a slow build but having to wait 20 minutes for anything resembling tempo was just annoying. An exercise in patience and futility.

pretty but just overall generic and boring

I fell asleep. Tedious stuff that goes nowhere. I get what they're trying to do, it is not for me.

Completely ethereal. The soundtrack to transcendening from mortal flesh to the afterlife. The distorted reverberations, extended droning, dreamy floating ambience, heavenly Icelandic vocals… it all just wraps you in a blanket and gives you some aural beauty to admire.

If anything can cause an ear orgasm - it's definitely this!

I don't know if it's just in my particular circle, but this was one of THE albums when it came out and still has legendary mystique. It might not be my favorite of theirs - I think that honor goes to the followup () - but it defines their sound and no one else quite does it like them in post rock. Dreamy, ethereal, otherworldly... whatever adjectives you want to use are probably a good start. Svefn-g-englar has that majesty and atmosphere... I was impressed this time with the power of the keyboards on Flugufrelsarinn, and the almost-bluesy bass riff on Hjartaoð hamast, before the wall of noise kicks in. There's really no bad songs, and everything flows together like one long performance, so just put it on and let yourself float away. Essential.

Everything about this was novel to me. The record is touching, even if you can't understand a single word. And once you search for the translated lyrics, you understand they are as beautiful as the music. This is timeless and transcendental.

Nothing (except many some of Brian Eno's work) can calm me more than 'Agaetis Byrjun'. I remember hearing about Sigur Ros and searching everywhere for this album before I finally found an import version. I'd listen to it over and over while lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Jonsi's cello bow playing on the guitar mixed perfectly with the atmospheric music which seems to reach up to the sky and reflects the beautifully stark Icelandic landscape. I saw Sigur Ros during their tour for their third album '( )'. The venue allowed a 100 college aged kids with CMJ Music Marathon passes to attend. The crowd was rowdy, rude and drunk. They booed the opening act and generally were frustrating to listen to. But three minutes of Sigur Ros playing was enough to shut them up for the rest of the show. Years later 'Agaetis Byrjun' remains one of my all time favorite albums.

Agaetis Byrjun is the brilliant debut album from Sigur Ros. Their music is very difficult to categorize - first, they are from Iceland. They are a rock band that makes elegant ballads and soundscapes. Their lead singer, Jonsi, sings in a melodic falsetto, and is accompanied by a rock band and at times, an orchestra. They layer ambient electronic effects to create the full, rich sound of their songs. Agaetis Byrjum was the album that made Sigur Ros into international stars. Their unique sound propelled the band to near-universal critical success, and world-wide commercial success.

Very happy to see this album on here. I love Sigur Ros and this album especially. You do need to be in a certain mood to listen to them though. Glad it was gloomy today.

Used to listen to this to fall asleep, I mean that in the best way

The beauty of this music is not only found in the structure and instrumentation, but furthermore exist in the audiences interpretation.

Otra sorpresa, no porque no conozca la banda sino por el reto de escuchar por primera vez un disco completo de Sigur Rós. Súper relajante, para estar tirado en una cama o en un sillón, sólo concentrado en la música que suena. Ambiental, noventoso en detalles sutiles que recuerdan a Radiohead (el mejor ejemplo es Flugufrelsarinn). Tiene canciones épicas, como Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm) y Viðrar vel til loftárása. Tiene todo para un viaje emotivo. Introspectivo. Pienso que también son necesarias estas instancias de desconexión: sobre todo en Argentina. ¿Está mal que el arte sea, de vez en cuando, un escape?

Just gorgeous and genre-defining. A big part of my mid-2000s.

Dreams

Really good album, did not expect something so good so soon.

I have no idea what they are singing about but I loved this already years ago... Great album

Beautiful This album is truly beautiful. I have the same feelings towards it as i did to Melody AM and Vespertine. It's anthemic, makes you wanna run through a field with your arms up in the air, embracing life. its just absolutely beautiful i think im going 5, i will come back to this record often, i hope

I thought a whole album of Sigur Ros would be too repetitive for me, but wow I just get so emotional listening to this music. There is something transcendental about it.

Riktigt bra, skönt sound och fina melodier. Tror bara att jag inte lyssnat på vissa låtar tillräckligt men annars är det nog en av de bättre jag har rateat.

Solid. By coincidence this album was recommended on North American eclipse day 2024. Excellent soundtrack for an eclipse.

I'm hoping this isn't the only Sigur Ros. I've seen them live a few times. Spent a good chunk of my late teens/early 20s listening to them. Very special place in my heart.

Incredibly atmospheric and moving, achieved exclusively through tone and texture. Sung in Icelandic and gibberish, I didn't understand a word but was still moved almost to tears. An otherworldly masterpiece. Rating: 5/5 Playlist track: Svefn-g-englar Date listened: 19/12/23

Ugh, I really love this. It definitely helps to listen to this as an album in its entirety. Turn the sound way up and let the whole thing wash over you in its sublime majesty. The whole album is solid, with big melancholic soundscapes throughout, and flashes of searing beauty (notably with songs like Starálfur). The long tracks go by so quickly. I love everything about this. The album art, the concept, everything.

Familiar with a couple of Sigur Rios songs but first time listening to this album, wow, so atmospheric absolutely a masterpiece. Can see me listening to this a lot this year.

goated, if only their other albums were as consistent as this

https://www.stereogum.com/2047135/sigur-ros-agaetis-byrjun-turns-20/reviews/the-anniversary/

Coincidentally been listening to this (for the first time) recently. Very chilled and cohesive. Definitely added to my favourites.

Very pretty and relatively complex. Some surprising moments, and some dull ones, and some goofy ones. Not as guitar driven as literally anything else in the post-rock genre. Honestly not a fan of the voice though. I like to pretend he's just reading the Ikea catalog.

ethereal. beautiful. demands your full attention.

beautiful album, some of the best post-rock i’ve had the pleasure of listening to

Simon: 1. I have this, but probably made it never all the way through before today, due to its length. 2. Did you ever go to a majestically dingy club called The Foundry wedged between Great Eastern St and Old St? Some friends played strange and sometimes obnoxious music to other weirdos there in the early noughties, and among gruesome remixes of “The Lady in Red” and the “Eastenders” theme, a constant was the set ending with “Svefn-g-englar”, which is enchanting. 3. There are some sumptuous textures and melodies in here, and it builds a consistent sound-world for itself, which I like. However, there’s not enough grit in there to keep me from sliding off. The sixth song flashes a spot of Dave Brubeck before the wailing guitars and epic whispering return, and I’m extending my arms going no, no, bring back sexy Brubeck, which is a dangerous move when driving a car. 4. I saw Sigur Ros support Radiohead along with Beck, and I must report R Head were surprisingly fun while SigRo sounded lost and missable, while Beck as just dull. Don’t worry, I didn’t pay. 5. There’s something a little cute or twee to the vibe, the silliness of singing sometimes in a made-up language fitting, trading in darkness that is more Tim Burton than David Lynch. 6. A later album, “Kveikur", has a song called “Isjaki" that has an urgency absent here, and is my favourite track of theirs along with "Svefn-g-englar”. 7. Homework noted with thanks.

I remember first discovering this and being amazed at how different it sounded compared to anything else I knew at the time. I was huge into Sigur Rós for awhile and even saw them in concert. Now hearing this again many years later, I still enjoy this, but the feeling for me is more nostalgia than anything else. There are a couple strong tracks on this album, but most of this kind of moves from one to the next without much consequence. I listen to this with fond memories but I also wonder if this could have been the beginning of something much bigger that never really materialized.

Sigur Ros. Enough said.

Bands like Sigur Rós - I've never heard of them before today - are exactly the reason why I like the 1001 site. It provides me the opportunity to expand my horizons and listen to something new and different. Two tracks, "Olsen olsen" and "Ágætis byrjun", are truly beautiful.

To be transparent here my review may be inflated by me being in the optimal situation to hear this album. I had a 40 minute walk home after work at 1 am. Turned this one on and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more beautiful album. All of the instrumentals just had a way of evoking emotion. It was long for sure and I do kinda wish it was in English but when a albums speaks to me in this was I’m more willing to overlook that. Weird one to rate cuz there’s not songs with replay value and I don’t know when I’m gonna listen to it again but I just had a 5/5 experience listening. Best: the first four tracks (not including intro)

I thought, for some reason, this was going to be a Hispanic rock band. Heard the name before and I guess that’s what came to mind. It’s not. Icelandic melodic dreamy music. I really like this.

Atmospheric, ambient almost synthy electro. Some guitar/folk jazz elements on Hjartad hamast Actually, soft rock elements throughout. Is this shoegaze? Title track reminds me of Coldplay, so soft indie?' Not too bad Best track - Flugufrelsarinn, title track, Olsen Olsen

Strange. Some songs are too long and drone along at the same tempo for way too much time. Length is an issue overall. I have no problem with long songs, I just don’t need to listen to 10 of them in a row. This was ok, but I’ll never go back to it.

One thing is for certain - I listened to the album. I can't recall a memorable moment of it, but I listened. This is the definition of ambient music.

Just a lot of noise in my opinion..... Nothing really of interest to me. Not enough SOUL. Lots of just soft instrumentals and sing-songy, astral vocals

don't get the appeal

A good beginning my arse. Steer well clear.

Ongelma ei ole vain se, että tämän on tarkoitus synnyttää kivoja, seesteisen kaipaavia tunteita, vaan myös se, että kappaleiden melodiat kuulostavat Rod Stewartin 90-luvun täytelevyjen voimaballadeilta.

Ten tracks clocking in at a total of just under 72 minutes. Woof.

This was a slog. I really didn't enjoy this very much at all.

No, couldnt listen to it

Not for me. Did not understand what the album was meant to accomplish and did not have access to enough mind-altering substances to try and understand

Weird Shit.

Horrible album… its so dead

First few songs I wanted to shoot myself. Then there was one good song. Hurrah! Then I listened to the next few songs and wanted to shoot myself.

BOOOORING

Not a fan honestly. I don't see any elements that I see in future music really, at least not ones that are only done here. Plus the entire album felt very....empty

Not my kind of music ...

No. I already know this is a steaming pile of crap that I don't want to step in again.

Uff these were just sounds to me

No.

Boring

This is an album that gets itself all over the shop. If you fancy testing out some new speakers, people will tell you to use this album. I can't for the life of me work out why. I have tried more than once to listen to this album. Each time, I think to myself "There must be SOMETHING" to this - but every time I find myself reaching the same conclusion. This album is just really really boring. It is obvious and boring. It's exactly the sort of distilled wankery that plagued early-mid 2000s music, in that it is full of trowelled-thick sweeping orchestral tosh. Many of the tracks are painfully repetitive. The middle section of Svefn-g-englar is basically the needle stuck in the groove of some antisocial blighter making the noise "Tjú", which is warbled so frequently that I think I wanted to boil my head before it was even halfway finished. I've seen in places that this is an album for millennials, something that may just solidify that I am not a millennial. Others have said that they use this album to journey through sweeping soundscapes, to lose themselves in imagery - and bully for them. I am just left with mental pictures of Professor Brian Cox looking gormlessly into the middle distance in front of a greenscreen backdrop, waiting for some clever chaps from the BBC to composite in an elaborately rendered 3D animation of some nebula or other. It holds almost zero interest for me, and I find the love for it perplexing. When I listen to this album I am reminded that Spiritualised exist, and released Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space two years before this. Ladies and Gentlement is just better in every conceivable way. I just don't get it. I don't have to, of course, and if you enjoy this bilge then power to your elbows, may your nipples explode with delight etc. It's not for me.

Whale music for Estate Agents

Hard no. Headache inducing noise. Not for me.