Jónsi: Shiver | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- In the same way that Icelandic indie staple Sigur Rós melted mountains with their charismatic, deeply personal rock, so does their lead vocalist Jónsi in Shiver, his first solo record in ten years. Teaming up with producer A.G. Cook of PC Music, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, and Swedish dance-pop sensation Robyn, Shiver is worlds apart from anything Jónsi has ever attempted before.

As if knowing that the futuristic, almost industrial pop that makes up a bulk of Shiver’s runtime would be inaccessible to his fans, Jónsi opens the record with the ghostly, falsetto driven Exhale: a track which captures fleeting sparks of hyperpop and the nocturnal ambience of Sigur Rós’ best work. It’s as if Exhale is an awakening for both Jónsi and the listener, gradually awakening while the lyrics depict an acceptance of fate, “Breathe in, breathe out / Learn to let go, everyone’s alright, this is the way it is.” While incredibly emotive and climactic, the stark outro is as nothing when set against what’s to come.

Shiver’s production reaches a maddening intensity in Wildeye, where oppressive synthesisers, metallic samples, and industrial drone all feature. Wildeye exists somewhere between the work of Arca, Nine Inch Nails and Death Grips. There’s an oddly meditative pause later in the track, as this production relapses into tranquil, operatic synths… before a fleeting, final wave of noise gushes out. The Robyn featuring single Salt Licorice has a similar structure, somehow finding space for two vocalists in between howling bells and a high pitched scream. Salt Licorice alternates between disco-pop and noise rock as these intense samples overlay sultry lyrics, “Kiss my soul, oh, my salt licorice / You taste like frost and burnished leather / Ooh, my Scandinavian pain.”

At its core, Shiver is a reflection of queer desire, the way it manifests itself as animalistic and primal, how it can be confusing and paralysing, but truly beautiful too. In Cannibal, a stunning duet with Elizabeth Fraser, known for her work as a member of Cocteau Twins and frequent contributor to Massive Attack, Jónsi expresses his desires through thinly veiled code, “I’m chewing cartilage, chewing your carcass / You know I’m a cannibal, cannibal / I remove your breathing heart, you know it’s only out of love.” These lyrics are more explicit in Wildeye, “We went too far, we went too far my straight friend.”

Where Jónsi’s most acclaimed work with Sigur Rós, Ágætis byrjun (A Good Beginning), featured vocals in Icelandic, but primarily in the fictional Hopelandic, in Shiver Jónsi is no longer hiding. Here, his metaphors are explicit, his artistic expression is unbound and the end result is a thrilling meeting of some of Jónsi’s most personal lyrics and most exhilarating production in wild contrast and brilliant synthesis.

- Sean Tayler.
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