A distinctive falsetto voice seems like the opposite of the current trend in pop music.  Throaty rockers and voices echoing from the Warped Tour seem to permeate Top 40 radio, but if you are looking for something a little off-beat, Jónsi is your Icelandic hero.

While his previous work with band Sigur Rós was inspired by classical and minimalist styles, his debut solo venture Go is full of what I can best describe as cheerful flutes, infectious percussion and melodies that will swell and sweep you across the room.  In a word the album is colorful, it may as well be a Tide commercial (in the best possible way).

While Jónsi is the face of the album, his vision could not have come about as beautifully without collaborating with Nico Muhly and Samuli Kosminen.  Collaborations in Indie music are common and exciting because you can sometimes connect a few of your favorite albums together by the producer or arranger that contributed to their creation.

Yes, he occasionally sings in Icelandic, but fear not, you may not even notice that you can’t understand the lyrics.  Similar to Thom Yorke, Jónsi blends his vocals into the music around them so that they in essence become another beautiful instrument in the song.

Is Jónsi’s voice too strange for your taste?  Are there artists that you now love that may have struck you as strange at first?

If you like: Bon Iver, Thom Yorke (of Radiohead)
Check out: Jónsi (Go: Start with “Boy Lililkoi,” progress with “Go Do,” and graduate to “Sinking Friendships”)
Feeling brave: Sigur Rós, Riceboy Sleeps, Yeasayer (“Tightrope”)

AI level: Advanced