Sigur Ros [1999] Agaetis Byrjun

[01] Intro
[02] Svefn-g-Englar
[03] Staralfur
[04] Flugufrelsarinn
[05] Ny Batteri
[06] Hjartad Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)
[07] Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa
[08] Olsen Olsen
[09] Agaetis Byrjun
[10] Avalon


amg: Two years passed since Sigur Rós' debut. By this time, the band recruited in a new keyboardist by the name of Kjartan Sveinsson and it seems to have done nothing but take the band to an even higher state of self-awareness. Even on aesthetic matters, Sigur Rós entitle their sophomore effort not in a manner to play up the irony of high expectations (à la the Stone Roses' Second Coming), but in a modest realization. This second album — Ágætis Byrjun — translates roughly to Good Start. So as talented as Von might have been, this time out is probably even more worthy of dramatic debut expectations. Indeed, Ágætis Byrjun pulls no punches from the start. After an introduction just this side of one of the aforementioned Stone Roses' backward beauties, the album pumps in the morning mist with "Sven-G-Englar" — a song of such accomplished gorgeousness that one wonders why such a tiny country as Iceland can musically outperform entire continents in just a few short minutes. The rest of this full-length follows such similar quality. Extremely deep strings underpin falsetto wails from the mournfully epic ("Viðar Vel Tl Loftárasa") to the unreservedly cinematic ("Avalon"). One will constantly be waiting to hear what fascinating turns such complex musicianship will take at a moment's notice. 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. Take "Hjartað Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)," for instance: there are so many layers of heavy strings, dense atmospherics, and fading vocals that it becomes an ineffectual mess of styles over style. As expected, though, the band's keen sense of Sturm und Drang is mostly contained within an elegant scope of melodies for the remainder of this follow-up. Rarely has a sophomore effort sounded this thick and surprising. Which means that "Good Start" might as well become of the most charming understatements to come out of a band in years.
(amg 9/10)

Sham 69 [1998] The Punk Singles Collection 1977-1980

[01] I Don't Wanna
[02] Ulster
[03] Red London
[04] What Have We Got
[05] Borstal Breakout
[06] Hey Little Rich Boy
[07] Angels With Dirty Faces
[08] The Cockney Kids Are Innocent
[09] If The Kids Are United
[10] Sunday Morning Nightmare
[11] Hurry Up Harry
[12] No Entry
[13] Questions And Answers
[14] I Gotta Survive
[15] With A Little Help From My Friends
[16] Hersham Boys
[17] You're A Better Man Than I
[18] Give A Dog A Bone
[19] Tell The Children
[20] Jack
[21] Unite And Win
[22] I'm A Man



amg: Since loudmouth Jimmy Pursey's group broke up after four years and four albums, here is the deluge list of retrospective Sham 69 product, including best-ofs, demos, and live outings, starting the year they split: The First, the Best & the Last (1980), Angels with Dirty Faces: The Best Of (1986), Live and Loud!! (1987), Live and Loud!!, Vol. 2 (1988), Sham's Last Stand (1989), Live at the Roxy (1990), Rare and Unreleased (1991), Kings & Queens (1997), and now The Punk Singles Collection (1998). Nine LPs! Overkill, anybody? Still, if you missed the above, let alone those four LPs reissued on CD by Dojo in 1996, you can't find a better place to peruse the godfathers of Oi! than this. It's a chronological collection of the 22 A- and B-sides from their ten U.K. singles (five straight of which were Top 20 hits there, proof of their massive following!). As usual, the original absolutely beats the movement it spawned, as the everybody-sing-along choruses of "Hurry Up Harry," "Questions and Answers," "Give a Dog a Bone," and "If the Kids Are United" belong in any non-snobbish punk fan's collection. In fact, since the two previous best-ofs are both long out of print vinyl, this CD is the jumping-on point for new kids on the Sham army block. Or, for those who wish to see what greatly inspired Minor Threat and the whole of the famous 1979-1983 D.C. Dischord scene, this is the place.
(amg 9/10)

Sinead O'Connor [1987] The Lion And The Cobra

[01] Jackie
[02] Mandinka
[03] Jerusalem
[04] Just Like U Said It Would B
[05] Never Get Old
[06] Troy
[07] I Want Your (Hands On Me)
[08] Drink Before The War
[09] Just Call Me Joe



amg: Sinéad O'Connor's debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it's entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what's striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound — an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking "Mandinka" or the sexy hip-hop of "I Want Your (Hands on Me)." Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since "Troy," "Jackie," and "Jerusalem" are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It's not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it's a thoroughly impressive debut — and it's all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus.
(amg 9/10)