Go

In 2009, Sigur Rós singer/guitarist Jon Thor Birgisson (Jónsi) and Alex Somers released <i>Riceboy Sleeps</i>, a majestic and lovely creation sprung from the musical landscape tilled and tended by Sigur Rós. On <i>Go</i> Jónsi stretches out in surprising fashion: clearly, a pop heart beats beneath his sheen of Icelandic cool. <i>Go</i> is uplifting, at times joyous, yet Jónsi’s sweet, fairie-dusted voice stays firmly on this side of twee. French horns, cellos, harps and other orchestral dressings sparkle and glisten; flutes and spare, martial drumbeats render “Go Do” fluttery and airborne, and the hop-scotching woodwinds, strings and acoustic guitars on “Boy Lilikoi” and “Animal Arithmetic” are sheer heaven on the aural palate. Occasional somber tracks like “Tornado” and “Hengilas” unfold like miniature Sigur Rós epics, crescendos and codas coming a little sooner, Jonsi’s surging falsetto as goosebump-raising as any Sigur Rós tune. ("Go Quiet", a film featuring acoustic versions of these tracks, was directed by Dean DeBlois who also co-directed the animated film <i>How To Train Your Dragon</i>,” the soundtrack of which contains the Jónsi track “Sticks and Stones”.)