Go (Jónsi album)

Go
Studio album by Jónsi
Released	31 March 2010 (in Japan)
Recorded	Summer 2009 at Jónsi's house in Reykjavík, and at Tarquin Studios, in Connecticut.
Genre	Post-rock, baroque pop
Length	40:17
Label	XL Recordings, Parlophone
Producer	Jónsi, Alex Somers, Peter Katis
Jónsi chronology
Riceboy Sleeps (2009) Go (2010)
Singles from Go
"Go Do" Released: 21 March 2010 "Animal Arithmetic" Released: 24 May 2010[1]

Go is the second studio album by Icelandic musician Jónsi, frontman of the band Sigur Rós. The album was released on 5 April 2010, through XL Recordings,^[2] as reported by a downloadable track from the official site.^[3] The fourth track of the album, "Boy Lilikoi", was released for free from Jónsi's website, available to those subscribing to the website's mailing list.

According to a late 26 May 2009 post on Sigur Rós official site, the album features predominantly acoustic music and string arrangements from composer Nico Muhly. The album was co-produced by Alex Somers, Peter Katis and Jónsi himself, during summer 2009, in Reykjavík and Connecticut.^[4] A worldwide tour across North America and Europe also took place upon the album's release from April–May 2010, featuring Jónsi performing songs from the album and a "unique, cinematic" performance stage designed by 59 Productions.

"Kolniður" was featured at the end of the Criminal Minds sixth season episode "Lauren" and in a trailer for Real Steel. "Around Us" was included on the FIFA 11 soundtrack^[5] and the trailer for the Disney dub of The Secret World of Arrietty.

"Tornado" was featured in the film "Disconnect," at the closing scene and ending credits, which got overall positive critical praise.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	(A-)[8]
BBC	(average)[9]
Clash	(9/10)[10]
Drowned in Sound	(9/10)[11]
musicOMH	[12]
onethirtybpm	(87%)[13]
Pitchfork Media	(8.1/10)[14]
PopMatters	[15]
The Skinny	[16]
Slant Magazine	[17]
Spin	[18]

Go has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scoring a 76/100 on the music review aggregator website Metacritic.^[6] Most reviews praise Muhly's precise arrangements and Jónsi's flighty vocals, while a few lukewarm reviews discuss the album's lack of cohesion. The album has reached number twenty on the UK Albums Chart,^[19] number twenty-three on the Billboard 200 in the United States,^[20] number six on the Belgian (Flanders) Ultratop chart,^[21] number thirty-one on the Swiss Albums Top 100,^[21] number seventy-four on the Italian Music Chart^[22] and number eighty-four on the Dutch Mega Album Top 100.^[21]

Track listing

1. "Go Do" – 4:41
2. "Animal Arithmetic" – 3:24
3. "Tornado" – 4:15
4. "Boy Lilikoi" – 4:30
5. "Sinking Friendships" – 4:42
6. "Kolniður" – 3:56
7. "Around Us" – 5:18
8. "Grow till Tall" – 5:21
9. "Hengilás" – 4:15

Japanese bonus track^[23]

1. "Sinking Friendships (Acoustic)" – 4:00
2. "Tornado (Acoustic)" – 3:57

Personnel

• Jón Þór Birgisson – vocals, sampler, guitar, piano, ukulele, glockenspiel
• Samuli Kosminen – drums, percussion, kalimba, harp
• Nico Muhly – piano, celeste, glockenspiel, string arrangement, brass arrangement, wind arrangement
• Alex Somers – guitar, piano, celeste, glockenspiel, sampler

Additional musicians

• Hideaki Aomori – clarinet
• Edward Burns – bassoon
• Christa Robinson – oboe, English horn
• Alexandra Sopp – flutes
• William Lang – bass trombone
• David Nelson – trombone
• David Byrd-Marrow, Kate Sheeran – French horn
• Caleb Burhans, Courtney Orlando – violin
• Nadia Sirota, John Pickford Richards – viola
• Clarice Jenson, Brian Snow – cello
• Logan Coale – double bass

Technical

• Jón Þór Birgisson – writer, producer
• Alex Sommers – producer
• Peter Katis – producer, engineer
• Greg Giorgio – assistant engineer

References

1. "Jónsi's new single, Animal Arithmetic released May 24". EMI Music. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
2. "Listen: Symphonic Solo Song From Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
3. "Jónsi". jonsi.com. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
4. "Sigur Ros Singer Jonsi Announces Debut Solo Album Details". gigwise.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
5. "FIFA 11 soundtrack". fifplay.com. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
6. "Metacritic – Go reviews".
7. Sendra, Tim. "Review: Go". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
8. Heller, Jason (6 April 2010). "Go". A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
9. "BBC review".
10. "Clash review".
11. "Drowned in Sound review".
12. "musicOMH review".
13. "onethirtybpm review".
14. "Pitchfork Media review".
15. Schumer, Ben (8 April 2010). "Jónsi: Go". PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
16. "The Skinny review".
17. "Slant Magazine review".
18. "Spin review".
19. "Official UK Albums Top 100 – 17th April 2010". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
20. "Go – Jónsi". Billboard. Nielson Business Media. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
21. "Jónsi – Go (Album)". Swisscharts.com. HungMedien. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
22. "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche".
23. "ヨンシー (Jónsi) GO". emimusic.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2011.