Shiver

Jónsi

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Jónsi. What can I say about this man? He's been at the helm of some of the most emotionally powerful music I have ever heard which continues to have a lasting impact on me. Around the time I started becoming more familiar with his work, I was coming to terms with my sexuality, I was anxious about my career path, and I was on my own in a new city trying to navigate my way into adulthood. I came to rely on the music of Sigur Rós when ever I needed a chill-out moment; not something that coddled me into a false sense of security, but communicated that life is a journey with ups and downs. Plus, learning of the fact that Jónsi is gay was great considering that I was in the market for gay role-models. This is just a long winded way of saying that I'm a huge fan and have to check out everything he breathes on.

The interesting thing about Jónsi's second solo album, Shiver, is that it has been co-produced with PC Music's A.G. Cook. It is quite marvelous hearing the likes of Jónsi, Elizabeth Fraser, and Robyn, all pioneers in various respects, work with an artist who is currently a pioneer in the pop and electronic spheres. Learning of this news got me so incredibly excited to hear this but that excitement was short lived. The first single to drop, Exhale, is a pretty exhausting track. It builds for the better part of 5 minutes to a pay off that isn't all that compelling. The second single, Swill, threw me off even more with these very bold and loud metallic synth blasts. I can't help but feel like the song is trying really hard to appeal to a hyperpop crowd in a way that is so forced and inauthentic. It took me a long time to finally try the rest of the record out of fear that Jónsi would let me down.

I finally got around to it and I was actually pleasantly surprised. For the most part, I think the duo of Jónsi and Cook actually yielded some great results. Both artists were able to live in each other's world without being too disruptive; delivering an experience that I think would be enjoyable for fans of either artist. Two of my favourite songs, Shiver and Kórall, are otherworldly, abstract pop journey's that perfectly set the stage for Jónsi's alien voice. Conversely, tracks like Sumarið sem aldrei kom, Hold, and Grenade at the base level feel like songs that could have been on Jónsi's last record, but are elevated this time thanks to some cool vocal manipulations and synth flourishes that I assume are provided by Cook.

The closing track Beautiful Boy struck me as the album's most unique experience. The way the vocals have been treated, it sounds like Jónsi's voice is being passed through a flute that is having a lot of trouble phonating. In the second verse, Jónsi's voice becomes even harder to decipher. With the rush of noise towards the end, I envision a robot struggling to stay online, but the plug ultimately gets pulled. It's a pretty interesting finish to a pretty interesting record. I didn't love it every step of the way but there was more than enough compelling material here to leave me very satisfied. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 10 years for another solo record.