Very few singers embody the phrase "a man of few words" like Sigur Rós' lead etherealist Jónsi does. Throughout the Icelandic group's 16-year history, Jónsi (full name Jón Birgisson) has split his falsetto-driven lyrics between his native tongue and an elaborate form of gibberish that he dubs "Hopelandic." In fact, with the exception of one nearly unintelligible track on the band's last album, Jónsi hadn't recorded anything in English—until now.
With his band on indefinite hiatus and Riceboy Sleeps (another all-Icelandic side project recorded with boyfriend Alex Somers) already out the door, Jónsi released his first all-English solo album, Go, earlier this month, morphing Sigur Rós' post-rock instrumentation into fantasy noise-pop. And with such lyrics as "You wish fire would die and turn colder, you wish your love could see you grow older," it turns out that, after more than a decade and a half, the guy actually has something to say.
