Sigur Ros becomes Agaetis Byham when they play Pittsburgh

Sigur Ros

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Byham Theater, $25

(412)… Sigur Ros

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Byham Theater, $25

(412) 456-6666

The day has come: One of my favorite bands from across the Atlantic Ocean will be here. Sigur Ros performs tonight at the illustrious Byham Theater right here in Pittsburgh. I have been a devoted fan ever since discovering these enigmatic Icelandic sensations in 2001. Agaetis Byrjun, their hopelessly beautiful release that year, has astounded me every time I’ve listened to it.

Drop back a few years and sift through the heart-stopping film, “Vanilla Sky.” Sigur Ros’ song, “Njosnavelin” (pronounced Nee-yose-nah-vallen, it means “nothing song”), was one of the most popular tracks from the film’s soundtrack. The group also supplied the soundtrack to “Englar Alheimsens” (“Angels of the Universe”). Not only that, but foreign film fiends can also find them in the new documentary/movie, “Hlemmur,” which they composed the entire musical score. They have even made an appearance on “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborne,” and plan on another appearance on “Last Call with Carson Daly.”

Describing the band is a difficult ordeal, because everyone tries to emulate them, but scarcely anyone comes close. Sigur Ros is mellow yet intense, smooth yet jagged, airy yet powerful. Sigur Ros – essentially translated to “victory rose” in Icelandic, which came from Jonsi’s sister’s name – comprises of Jonsi on guitar/vocals/synthesizer, Kjarri on guitar/keyboards/piano, Goggi on bass/xylophone, and Erm Orri on drums and keyboard. I have to use only their nicknames, because their full names would take up another paragraph.

Jonsi’s songwriting takes on its own distinct cadence. Slowly cascading drums, a smooth bass and his blossoming guitar parts slither about in the heads of the audiences as he moves from fingerpicking to a cello bow almost seamlessly, all the while displaying his emotions. Of their albums, Jonsi has sung in Icelandic on all but three of them. The most notable album is ( ), which was released late last year. He sings in a language that he himself has created, deemed Hopelandic, or “vonlenska.” It’s a “gibberish” style that allows him to sing beautiful notes that even tread into the falsetto range, but can have some interesting translations.

For the album, he recorded his vocals, and told fans to send the band interpretations to the Web site, and the one that sounded most like what he would sing would eventually get played live. Let’s just say I’m excited to see how “Njosnavelin” will translate to a live audience, now that its lyrics have been set in stone.

Speaking of the show, it’s almost completely sold out at the time of this writing, but tickets were still available as of this weekend. You can read more about Sigur Ros at www.sigur-ros.com, or their official news site, www.sigur-ros.co.uk. If you make it to one show this year, make it this one. I can guarantee they will blow you away.