Ágætis byrjun (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈaːuɣaitɪs ˈpɪrjʏn] ow-gy-tiss bi-ar-yun, A good beginning[1]) is the second album by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, which was released in 1999. Ágætis byrjun was recorded between the summer of 1998 to the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas, and becameSigur Rós's breakthrough album, both critically and commercially. Ágætis byrjun represented a substantial departure from the band's previous album Von, with that album's Cocteau Twins-esque dream pop and extended ambient soundscapes replaced by Jónsi Birgisson's now signature cello-bowed guitarwork and lush orchestration (using a double string octet amongst other orchestral elements).
The album's title came from a friend hearing the first song they had written for the album, which would become the title track. After hearing the song, he said it was "a good beginning"; the name stuck. The name has also been translated as "An alright start."
Sigur Rós won an Iceland Music Award[2] and the 2001 Shortlist Music Prize for this album.
Composition[edit][]
[1]Logo on the album cover in the font ShelleyAllegro BT
The ten songs on the album include some self-reference: the introduction contains backmasked parts from the title track, and the last song, "Avalon", consists of a different take of an instrumental passage from "Starálfur" slowed to around a quarter of its original speed. The strings in "Starálfur" itself are palindromic; they are the same forwards and backwards.
All vocals are sung in Icelandic, except for those on "Olsen Olsen" and the last section of the title track, which are sung in the gibberish language Vonlenska. Sigur Rós' subsequent album, ( ), used Vonlenska exclusively for its vocals.
Packaging[edit][]
The sketch on the cover was drawn by Gotti Bernhöft with a Bic Cristal ballpoint pen.[3] The booklet cover for the CD edition of the album features the line: "Ég gaf ykkur von sem varð að vonbrigðum... þetta er ágætis byrjun" which translates to "I gave you (plural) hope that became a disappointment... this is a good beginning".[1] This line is a reference to their two previous releases, Von and Von brigði.
Sigur Rós assembled and glued together the cases of the first print of Ágætis byrjun themselves. As a result, many of the CDs were unusable due to glue stains.[3]
Reception[edit][]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (87/100) [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [5] |
| Robert Christgau | (B)[6] |
| Pitchfork Media | (9.4/10)[7] |
| PlayLouder | (positive)[8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Slant Magazine | [10] |
| musicOMH | [11] |
| NME | (7/10)[12] |
| Spin | (8/10)[13] |
While released to little fanfare, the album quickly gained radio exposure in Iceland, and spent the autumn of 1999 climbing the Icelandic album charts, finally resting at the top for a number of weeks. After surprising success in Iceland, the album subsequently gained strong international buzz with numerous articles in many prominent publications, hype from internet message boards and blogs, as well as often exuberant critical praise. Ágætis byrjun was released in theUnited Kingdom in 2000, and in the North American market in 2001 by Fat Cat Records. In 2001, Ágætis byrjun won the inaugural Shortlist Music Prize.
An acclaimed music video was made for "Viðrar vel til loftárása". The album's tracks have also been featured in soundtracks; "Starálfur" was used in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou[14] and the Emmy winning 2005 TV film The Girl in the Café. "Svefn-g-englar" was used in Vanilla Sky, amongst others. The song "Flugufrelsarinn" has been arranged by Stephen Prustman for the Kronos Quartet, and is available on their iTunes-only release Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós.
Ágætis byrjun was placed by Pitchfork Media at number 2 on their annual Best Albums list for 2000, and was placed at 8 on their top 200 albums of the 2000s, released on 2 October 2009.[15]
In December 2009, Rolling Stone ranked Ágætis byrjun the 29th best album of the 2000s.[16]
In the Q and Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #27 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums"
It was announced in 2009 that a deluxe edition would be released to mark the 10th anniversary of Ágætis byrjun's international release.[17] However, since then, no other announcements have been made regarding the release of a deluxe edition.
Track listing[edit][]
| No. | Title | English translation[*] | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro[18]" | 1:36 | ||
| 2. | "Svefn-g-englar" | "Sleep(walk)ing Angels" | 10:04 | |
| 3. | "Starálfur" | "Staring Elf" | 6:46 | |
| 4. | "Flugufrelsarinn" | "The Fly's Savior" | 7:48 | |
| 5. | "Ný batterí" | "New Batteries" | 8:06 | |
| 6. | "Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm)" | "The Heart Pounds (boom boom boom)" | 7:08 | |
| 7. | "Viðrar vel til loftárása" | "Good Weather for an Airstrike" | 10:13 | |
| 8. | "Olsen Olsen" | 8:03 | ||
| 9. | "Ágætis byrjun" | "A Good Beginning" | 7:39 | |
| 10. | "Avalon" | 4:01 |
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81g%C3%A6tis_byrjun#ref_a.2A
- ] English translations not official.
Personnel[edit][]
- Jón Þór Birgisson – vocals, guitar
- Kjartan Sveinsson – keyboard
- Georg Hólm – bass
- Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson – drums
Release history[edit][]
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | June 1999 | Smekkleysa | CD | SM79CD | |
| United Kingdom | 11 August 2000 | Fat Cat | 2LP | FATLP11 | |
| CD | FATCD11 | ||||
| United States | 22 May 2001 | PIAS | CD | PIASA 01-02 | |
| United Kingdom | 9 March 2009 | Fat Cat | 2LP | FATLP11X | 180g vinyl, DMM |