ÁGÆTIS BYRJUN

In the band's finest offering so far, Agaetis Byrjun is a compelling album with soft textures, atmospheric qualities, and despite its tortoise like speed, proves that slow and steady really does win the race. This is an astounding achievement in the field, and despite the lack of followable vocals, proves that the bands ability to craft a variety of gripping soundscapes makes it a leader of the genre.

What makes the music so great is its ability to capture the human spirit, the emotions deep within us, all while using a minimalistic approach is quite inspiring. There is actually very little "rock" here. Do not expect any blues-based riffage or awe-inspiring melodies. The keys here are texture and atmosphere, timbre, to create the sound and the experience. Sigur Ros's Agaetis Byrjun is as much a listening experience as it is a visual one. The star track for me is the 2nd one, which I would not even attempt to pronounce for fear of humility.

Many would like to claim the prog has lost its passion, that its soulless technical music. I would like to offer this piece as a counter to these claims, that prog has never been about technical virtuosity, though it has always been more present in prog than in contemporary rock. Prog is about substance over style, about art over image. Agaetis Byrjun is a triumph in this regard.

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