I don't know if I mentioned it Monday, but I got my digital copy of "Go", a day earlier than the US disc release. It is the first album I've ever pre-ordered. Set me back just a bit over 40 bucks, what with shipping and handling. For the extra cash I got the digital copy, a 3 song download a couple of weeks before release, a short live acoustic video, a "Go Quiet" trailer and right around the time of my birthday I'll get the actual CD as well as the "Go Quiet" DVD. Seemed like a good deal, and I'm positive it will prove to be just that.
What do I think of it...of course, I am extremely biased. Jonsi is the only contemporary musical artist I give a shit about anymore. His voice has tunneled it's way into a precious place in my soul. It goes without saying (if you read my blog or know me personally) that I am a hardcore Sigur Ros fanatic. That band and his contributions to it have transported me to a blissful place so many times, I could not count them. His voice, and what he is able to do with it, raises goosebumps with incredible consistency. If I could sustain the feeling it gives me on a continual basis I would truly believe I'd died and gone to heaven. If I have a guardian angel, he sounds like Jonsi.
So, jeez, how can you expect me to have an objective opinion? "Go" is an incredible album that shimmers with originality. The arrangements are remarkably complex, but never come off as cluttered. Instead they are intriguing. They make you want to go deeper into the music. And when you do you'll find even more to appreciate. I don't know if this album is one that non-fans are going to "get" with only one or two listens. It's not possible, unless you're already familiar with the man's methods. Even if you ARE a Sigur Ros fan you may have to get over not having a proper SR record, because there is very little of their sonic style exhibited here. But once you spend a little time with it you will likely be singing it's praises, too. If you like the same-old same-old (and there's nothing wrong with that) you may become disoriented with the out-of-the-ordinary soundscapes...then there are those who can't stand his voice. I can see that. I've got a good friend who has tried and tried to get into Sigur Ros because he knows how highly I think of them. He can't do it. It's not the music, he says. It's the singer. I understand completely. The vocals have been a point of division amongst fans and non-fans ever since "Sven-g-Englar" found it's way into so many film soundtracks (including an excellent placing in "Vanilla Sky"). So I can't say, "Everybody get out there and buy this album!" There's gonna be a lot of folks pissed off at me after they've spent their cash. It's trite to say "it's not for everyone". Oh, well. It's got to be said.
(Note: I'm listening to the album as I write this and I had to stop everything, close my eyes and float as the refrain from "Grow Till Tall" played. I couldn't help it. If I could only describe the way it feels. It rises up from the gut. It feels like it gets stuck in the head. It feels like it wants/needs to just burst out and into the world. The back of my upper palate constricts. I feel like I could very well start crying, but won't let it out. It keeps pushing upwards. You have heard of the Third Eye, the all seeing all knowing Eye? It feels like it's trying to pry it open. I won't let it. Why not? Because I'm afraid of what I might see? My chest tightens exactly like it did on the day I first fell in love. Is it any wonder I want to keep it for my own? I can feel my brain throbbing. It's ceased to be music. It's transfigured into something much, much more. It is an atmosphere of dripping clouds to fly into. Or a velvet ocean to sink into and drown. Only 4 notes floating over 4 chords, over and over and over for 2 solid minutes and when those moments are over you have to find a way to come back down to earth. Maybe it would eventually prove tedious if it were on a loop and you were only "hearing" it. But if you follow the emotions it draws out of you, if you lose yourself in it's sound world, you may find yourself wishing it would never end.)
They say Sigur Ros is on "indefinite hiatus" at the moment. A lot of people read "indefinite hiatus" as "the band has broken up". I really, really hope not, because I don't think they've exhausted their creative possibilities. Yet there is a part of me that says I can accept that, if it happens. They have released a series of albums that are timeless (especially "Takk"). They will stand. Neil Young said it: "It's better to burn out than it is to rust". With "We Sing Endlessly" they will have left without having released a bad record. Who knows if Jonsi will turn out to be the "substitute" for fans wanting a Sigur Ros fix. That's certainly not what he's shooting for, as is obvious in the songs on "Go". As much as I like "Go" I would definitely like to see him do another record of dreamy post-rock and majestic sonic landscapes.
Truth be told, though, I just want to hear more from the guy. Whatever direction he takes will be interesting. Perhaps a guest appearance with TOOL? Or Vampire Weekend? Or Jay-Z? Or Kenny Chesney? Or Bruce Springsteen? The role of Voltan in Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung cycle (there's an inside joke for Jonsi fans who happen to like opera as well)? All that sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? I don't think any of it would actually work, but do you know what? I wouldn't put it past him to TRY. A lot of folks don't know that a couple of his favorite bands are Smashing Pumpkins and...brace yourself...Iron Maiden. Don't let his pixie mannerisms fool you.
I really should try to write a proper review of "Go". I'll keep putting it off until I feel like it's too late. I never gave "We Sing Endlessly" an actual review, though I said I would. Maybe I could do it justice, now that I have every song on the album memorized. Someday. Same with Jonsi's album. I want to take it all in before I try to definitively lay my opinion on the line. That, plus the fact that it's quite difficult to describe what it does for me (see above note).
So for now I will only remind you of the precious place in my soul that I wrote about earlier in this piece. "Go" is rattling the walls in there right now.
