Ágætis byrjun
- Scores: Noise 1, Unease 1, Complexity 2 (each 1 to 5)
- Genre: Rock, Post-rock
- Mood: ethereal, transcendental, dreamlike
- Sound: post-rock, swelling crescendos, falsetto vocals, mostly Icelandic lyrics; Hopelandic on Olsen Olsen
Ágætis byrjun is the second Sigur Rós album, recorded between August 1998 and April 1999 at several studios in Reykjavík with the producer Ken Thomas. Jónsi's guitar played with a cello bow replaces the ambient soundscapes of their first album, and a double string octet is added. The vocals are in Icelandic except on "Olsen Olsen" and the end of the title track, which use their invented language Hopelandic. The intro contains backmasked sections of the title track, "Avalon" is a slowed-down take from "Starálfur", and the string parts of "Starálfur" are palindromic.
Track list
- Intro (1:36)
- Svefn-g-englar (10:03)
- Starálfur (6:45)
- Flugufrelsarinn (7:47)
- Ný batterí (8:09)
- Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm) (7:09)
- Viðrar vel til loftaárasa (10:16)
- Olsen Olsen (8:02)
- Ágætis byrjun (7:55)
- Avalon (4:01)