Gig review: Jonsi

Published on Monday 6 September 2010 12:42

JONSI *** O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW

When you come from a land of fire and ice where a cloud of volcanic ash can wield influence across the northern hemisphere, awed respect for the landscape is probably a given.

As frontman of the esteemed Icelandic group Sigur Rs, Jonsi Birgisson has always steered an elemental course with his music, but he has made his connection to the natural world explicit on his debut solo tour, with a complex but seamlessly integrated flow of animated wildlife visuals. Created by video design company 59 Productions, they cover a darkly pastoral landscape of forests, fire and flood to complement the music from his current album, Go.

The resulting son et lumire presentation was executed with a modest theatricality. Rain trickled down a window to the massed tinkle of xylophones; ants scuttled across the gauze backdrop to a hectic soundtrack; a wolf hunted a deer through a wintry landscape as the band hit a searing peak in their set.

There was an inherent dynamism to the music anyway, garlanded exquisitely by Jonsi's celebrated voice - a pure, clear instrument over which he exerts impressive control, whether he is climbing to his eerie upper register, holding a note to a gradual fade or allowing an intake of breath to punctuate a hushed coda.

The audience were clearly transported throughout, but it was easier to admire this show than to be moved by it. The breezy hello-trees-hello-sky portion of the set stopped short of a truly euphoric surge and some of the more anthemic passages were garden-variety incidental soundtrack material.

However, such a lovingly and painstakingly created production deserves acclaim - and to be witnessed in a seated venue with better sightlines.