Most people who have heard Sigur Ros can probably remember the first time they were exposed to the Icelandic band’s music. The ethereal beauty of Sigur Ros makes first-timers take notice, largely because it doesn’t sound like something that should be from this planet. Heaven, maybe; Earth, no.
It’s unlikely listeners will have a similar experience with Riceboy Sleeps, the debut album by Jón Pór Birgisson — the man behind the angelic falsetto in Sigur Ros — and his partner Alex Somers. In fact, it’s more likely that they won’t even notice music is playing the first time through. By the third, though, they’ll likely be lost in the album’s delicate ambience of droning organs, pastoral noises and odd choral murmurings.
At nine tracks and over 65 minutes long, Riceboy Sleeps moves glacially. There are no big swells, no eruptions, nothing but the steady progression Birgisson and Somers create, but that’s not a fault. The album unfolds at its own pace, trading more in atmosphere than melody and hiding plenty of rewards in its myriad folds.
Riceboy Sleeps is hauntingly pretty as well, but that’s de rigueur for Birgisson at this point. This time around, though, that prettiness sounds distinctly earthen and it’s none the worse for it.
Post the first comment: (Login or Register)