Go (Jónsi album)

Go is the debut studio album by Icelandic musician Jónsi, frontman of the post-rock 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.

Go
Studio album by Jónsi
Released	31 March 2010 (2010-03-31)
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) We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Singles from Go
"Go Do" Released: 21 March 2010 "Animal Arithmetic" Released: 24 May 2010[1]

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. It also featured at the end of the first-season finale of the reality series Flying Wild Alaska. "Around Us" was included on the FIFA 11 and FIFA 23 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
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10[6]
Metacritic	76/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The A.V. Club	A−[9]
The Daily Telegraph	[10]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[11]
The Guardian	[12]
The Irish Times	[13]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[14]
Q	[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Spin	8/10[17]

Go has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scoring a 76/100 on the music review aggregator website Metacritic.^[7] 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,^[18] number twenty-three on the Billboard 200 in the United States,^[19] number six on the Belgian (Flanders) Ultratop chart,^[20] number thirty-one on the Swiss Albums Top 100,^[20] number seventy-four on the Italian Music Chart^[21] and number eighty-four on the Dutch Mega Album Top 100.^[20]

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 tracks^[22]

10. "Sinking Friendships" (acoustic) – 4:00
11. "Tornado" (acoustic) – 3:57

Personnel

• Jón Þór Birgisson – vocals, sampler, guitar, piano, ukulele, glockenspiel
• Samuli Kosminen – drums, percussion, kalimba, harp
• Nico Muhly – piano, celesta, glockenspiel, string arrangement, brass arrangement, wind arrangement
• Alex Somers – guitar, piano, celesta, 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 Somers – producer
• Peter Katis – producer, engineer
• Greg Giorgio – assistant engineer

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23]	64
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24]	6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25]	37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26]	84
French Albums (SNEP)[27]	86
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28]	100
Italian Albums (FIMI)[29]	74
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30]	35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31]	31
UK Albums (OCC)[32]	20
US Billboard 200[19]	23

References

1. "Jónsi's new single, Animal Arithmetic released May 24". EMI Music. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
2. "Listen: Symphonic Solo Song From Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi". pitchfork.com. 4 December 2009. 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. "Go by Jonsi reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
7. "Reviews for Go by Jonsi". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
8. Sendra, Tim. "Go – Jónsi". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
9. Heller, Jason (6 April 2010). "Jónsi: Go". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
10. Brown, Helen (7 April 2010). "Jónsi: Go, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
11. Wood, Mikael (31 March 2010). "Go". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
12. Dean, Will (1 April 2010). "Jónsi: Go". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
13. Boyd, Brian (19 March 2010). "Freeze frame". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
14. Dombal, Ryan (5 April 2010). "Jónsi: Go". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
15. "Jónsi: Go". Q (285): 112. April 2010.
16. Hermes, Will (5 April 2010). "Jonsi Birgisson: Go". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
17. Modell, Josh (21 March 2010). "Jónsi, 'Go' (XL)". Spin. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
18. "Official UK Albums Top 100 – 17th April 2010". The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
19. "Jonsi Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
20. "Jónsi – Go (Album)". Swisscharts.com. HungMedien. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
21. "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
22. "ヨンシー (Jónsi) GO". emimusic.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
23. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 149.
24. "Ultratop.be – Jónsi – Go" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
25. "Ultratop.be – Jónsi – Go" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jónsi – Go" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
27. "Lescharts.com – Jónsi – Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jónsi – Go" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
29. "Italiancharts.com – Jónsi – Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – Jónsi – Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Jónsi – Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2020.