Ágćtis Byrjun - Sigur Rós
Metascore
87 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Agaetis Byrjun stands up in overall artistic merit to any record ever made.
  2. Sigur Rós effortlessly make music that is massive, glacial, and sparse..... They are the first vital band of the 21st Century.
  3. At its best, the album seems to accomplish everything lagging post-shoegazers like Spiritualized or Chapterhouse once promised. However, at its worst, the album sometimes slides into an almost overkill of sonic structures
  4. 90
    A 72-minute haul into a cold, stirring, private space where the post-punk isolation of Joy Division is redefined and softened with mesmerizing doses of melody and romantic longing.
  5. Each song drifts in and out of focus like snatches of street noise on a half-awake Sunday morning - no need to get up, just lie there and listen quietly.
  6. As foolish as it seems to say that any music is 100 percent new, I've never heard anything like this before.
  7. Agaetis Byrjun is an impressively unself-conscious record that would have been difficult to make in a trend-obsessive center like London or New York. It is sincere and though its influences may be familiar, its beauty and tenderness are refreshingly new.
  8. Sigur Ros's second album proper features this astonishing opener ["Svefn-G-Englar"] and 10 others which, while surprisingly diverse, each reflects their penchant for apocalyptic serenity, overdriven guitars and teenage singer Jonsi's Birgisson unique Hopelandish language.
  9. They evoke folks as diverse as Led Zeppelin and My Bloody Valentine, but the gently woozy Sigur Ros don't sound like anything or anyone else so much as a classic-rock band bewitched by white magic.
  10. 'Post-rock', which Sigur Rós most assuredly are, may be little more than the shoegazing of a decade ago in an ironic T-shirt, but that's no reason to dismiss it outright. For a start, much of it is very lovely.
  11. When the music is fully operational... the potential for greatness is obvious.
  12. A thematically linked work where some of the sonic landscapes were entrancing (although not warm).
  13. Ágćtis Byrjun is one of the most sublimely immersive albums to come along in ages.
  14. Waves of unidentifiable noise, dulcet vibraphone pulses and singer/guitarist Jonsi's ethereal singing (more like some ghostly instrument than any conventional vocal, borne out by Jonsi's fictional 'language', Hopelandish, which he often sings in) mesh to create an elegant, grand music that's equally ambient and epic.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 98 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 46
  3. Negative: 2 out of 46
  1. BobR
    10
    Gah... this album's making me stay up late - -;;;... but yeah, it's awesome stuff... Catches your attention right from Svefn-g-Englar. Recommended for Radiohead fans. Now i'm attempting to sing along :(.. Full Review »
  2. FanMorgan
    10
    Jesus, I've had this album for a few months now. I don't usually write this kind of thing. Perfect. Like nothing else in the world. Indescribable. Full Review »
  3. 10
    Although Sigur Rós isn't for those who is accustomed to popular radio stations, their second studio album Ágætis Byrjun is a must-have, especially for diehard classical/instrumental music, Radiohead, and Björk fans. Those who seek artistic inspiration and want to gain deeper insight of the life's dark side SHOULD LISTEN TO THE WHOLE ALBUM. The best tracks to start with are "Viðrar vel til loftárása" and "Ný batterí." Full Review »