Go- Jónsi

Jónsi has gone out of his way to be strange as hell on this cd and it works for him quite well. His ridiculously high pitched Falsetto allows him to hit quite a range of notes and the strong beats (many of which feature a flute in the lead) really help keep the tracks hum along.

1. Go Do- This is easily the best song on the CD. The powerful beat gives the song a strong start (especially when the bass kicks in), but when Jónsi himself kicks in, he steals the show. His voice accompanied by the flutes provides an excellent sense of buildup, reaching an eventual crescendo before Jónsi brings the song to its close.

2. Animal Arithmetic- This song starts out with a much more fast passed tempo than Go Do does. Jónsi definitely takes the center stage, though the percussion serves to create a fairly strong background. Jónsi, ditches the drawn out falsetto for a faster tempo which actually helps make the lyrics a bit more coherent. The song hits its climax at around 3:04 before tapering off.

3. Tornado- Tornado is the first track of the album where we begin to dip down into a more emotional driven song, instead of the upbeat blissful introduction tracks. A low rumble of bass and crescendo snare comes together in a track meant to be the calmer, more melancholy face of this album. Dronier vocals towards 3:05 and rise in energy creates one last surge of music before totally drifting off into Jon’s last few lyrics.

4. Boy lilikoi is quite possibly one of my favorite songs on the album, because of the fact that it sounds as if a young child is explaining his perception of life; a calm and innocent song. A strange series of bells, whistles, crashes, booms and “tincks” all over the track do nothing but create an epic forground for Jon’s playful lyrics. This is the climax track in between Tornado and the second third of the album; However, this track (along with almost all others) follow a distinct yet very undertone structure.

5. Sinking Friendships- The layered voices that start the song sound almost like something that would come off of Bromst The piano eventually takes over for the layering and creates a strong backdrop for Jónsi's voice. However, he works fairly well with the piano instead of trying to be the star. The combination of flutes, piano, and who knows what else create the airy feeling which Jónsi has been trying to perpetuate all along. Coming full circle, the layered voices come back in, slipping out one after another until the song falls in upon itself.

6. Kolnidur- A strong background is provided by a piano and what seem to be at least part of an orchestra. Although Jónsi slows his tempo down, he manages to bring his pitch down too. This song has a much more winding feelings to it, creating a sense that at the end, the listener will have reached the end of a very long journey. Jónsi lets the orchestra take the lead here, especially after 2:00, when he starts back up with the airy falsetto.

7. Around Us- Around us is another striving song on the album with a very nice drum background. Perfect layering of instrumentation, layering vocals that fade away into each other, only to be washed away by a clean series of vocals. At about 1:40, Jon whips out the low vocals that create such a contrast, you can’t help but be sucked in when the higher vocals kick back in. Another perfect example of this is towards the end; the beautiful single violin and orchestra gently fading into distant vocals accompanied with lots of tremolo. Beautiful song.

8. Grow Till Tall- Grow till tall could possibly be the last track on the album and make me even happier. The previous works of Sigur Ros are more than apparent in this track. The low vocals accompanied by almost nothing, vibrato, and constant altercations of his angelic voice combine to create a sound we wouldn’t mind seeing more often. And only more and more familiar with Sigur Ros. The constant rise in his vocals gives way to the orchestra in the background, but nothing is ever too empowering; the voice is clear, sharp, yet beautiful; the orchestral instrumentation is done perfectly so that it all drones out into Jon’s vocals. The listener is taken on a journey, only to come to terms with a strangely perfect end, a fuzzed out, horribly altered 30 seconds that leaves the listener wanting more.

9. Hengilбs- This track first begins to sound all too familiar, but the rawer vocals and contrast in, well…language leaves in the listener in a semi dazed state. This is a track to reminis over the rest of the album but a beautiful ending within itself. A strong introduction with gentle rolls in energy. The sort of track you would listen to on the way back home, late afternoon after a tiring day. The fact that this track is clearly also a field recording makes listeners happy im sure. And as the track ends, we are quickly dropped off into the last swipes on the cello.