song of the day: april 28/2011

Sigur Rós - Starlalfur
Album: Ágætis Byrjun [1999]

named in part after a sister of one of the bandmembers, iceland's sigur rós (victory rose) was formed in early 1994 while the members were teenagers. the trio's first recorded song earned them a deal with iceland's bad taste label. their sprawling debut LP, "von" (hope), was released in 1997, followed by1999's strings-heavy "agætis byrjun" (good start), earning themselves numerous accolades in their homeland and achieving platinum status in sales. the band sings songs in icelandic, but also in their own made-up language, "hopelandic". everything ont he first two albums, aside from the epic "olsen olsen" are sung in icelandic. during the two years between their first two albums, the band recruited a new keyboardist and it seemed to do nothing but take the band to an even higher state of self-awareness. even on aesthetic matters, sigur rós entitle their sophomore effort not in a manner to play up the irony of high expectations, but in a modest realization. as talented as "von" might have been, this time out is probably even more worthy of dramatic debut expectations. indeed, agætis byrjun pulls no punches from the start. after a beautuiful introduction, the album pumps in the morning mist with "sven-g-englar" and "starlalfur" - the latter being a song of such accomplished gorgeousness that one wonders why such a tiny country as iceland can musically outperform entire continents in just a few short minutes. it truly is one of the most beautiful songsthe rest of this full-length follows such similar quality. extremely deep strings underpin falsetto wails from the mournfully epic to the unreservedly cinematic. one will constantly be waiting to hear what fascinating turns such complex musicianship will take at a moment's notice. the band's keen sense of bright and dark is mostly contained within an elegant scope of melodies for the entirety of the album. rarely has a sophomore effort sounded this thick and surprising. which means that "good start" might as well become one of the most charming understatements to come out of a band in years. one of the 90's best.

english translation:
starlalfur (staring elf):

blue night over the sky, blue night over me
dis-appreared out of the window
me with hands hidden under my cheek
i think about my day, today and yesterday
i put on my blue nighties, go straight to bed
i pull the soft covers over, close my eyes
i hide my head under the covers
a little elf stares at me, runs towards me
but doesn't move from place
himself, a staring elf
i open my eyes, take the crusts out
stretch myself and check (if i haven't)
returned again and everything is okay
still there is something missing
like all the walls

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