Ágætis Byrjun (‘A Good Beginning’) was the album that introduced the world to the unique, haunting musical style of Sigur Rós, transforming the global image of Icelandic music.

Upon hearing the band’s momentous sound—featuring orchestral strings, dynamic swells of guitar noise, and a falsetto voice singing incomprehensible syllables—international journalists found themselves perplexed. This was a music unlike any they had heard before. In attempting to explain the music, many critics zeroed in on the bands place of origin—Iceland. The music of Sigur Rós was equated to the natural landscapes of their home island, with stereotypical accounts of Norse mythology and bits of Viking age history thrown in for good measure. Like a sponge, the music of Sigur Rós absorbed exotic imagery of elves and the Northern lights, reinvigorating a centuries-long tradition of perceiving Iceland as a magical place on the edges of civilization.