Ágætis byrjun (1999)

Jónsi Birgisson plays his Les Paul with a cello bow, coaxing celestial, bowed-string textures over fragile upright piano notes and subtle brass swells. The music drifts like Arctic fog before expanding into colossal, oceanic peaks of bowed distortion and brass fanfares. The grandeur feels earned because the band spends whole minutes cultivating tender, meditative stillness.