Go Do

And we're back! A sincere apology for such a long hiatus (not that anyone really cares about this old blog anyway, right?)

On to more important things. Jónsi Þór Birgisson, vocalist, guitarist, pianist and all things auxiliary for Sigur Rós, just released his first solo effort titled, Go.

Considering that Jónsi has been writing and working on these songs for many years (some more than five years in the works), it's no surprise that this bevy of nine songs feels cohesive, intentional and uniquely complete; each song flowing purposefully from one to the next carrying the listener through a landscape of elation, bleakness, reminiscing and anticipation. And it's all done humbly and beautifully.

Rich layers of vocal arrangements paired with an orchestration of strings, brass, woodwinds and percussive elements that rarely resemble a traditional drum kit carry throughout the record. And the result of such meaning and dedication is simply sublime.

Jónsi - more than many modern artists - does such a stirring job of taking his music to a place that leads the listener way beyond a simple, sonic experience. If you can allow yourself to be vulnerable while listening to one record, Go is the record. The songs are like that childhood birthday that - when blowing out the candles on your cake in a dark room surrounded by those that love you - you knew your wish would come true. Or that walk on a beach with a good friend while gentle waves wash over your feet. Or a funeral after an unexpected death of someone close. Or that long-awaited kiss on New Years Eve just as the clock strikes twelve. The songs are your reliance. Your comfort in melancholy. Your faith in promise and perseverance. For some it is your worship. Your contentment that our world's discord is fleeting and that love is the beautiful and veritable agent of change.


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Go - Jónsi