Jonsi & Alex - Rain Down My Favorite Songs (2009)

Rough trade exclusive with a bonus hour-long jonsi and alex mix cd called 'rain down my favorite songs' of music that inspires and influences them including edith piath, the last ever recording of a castrato, washington philips, audrey hepburn and more. riceboy sleeps is an artistic collaboration between jon por birgisson (singer for sigur ros) and his boyfriend alex somers. they create visual art as well as this stunning music on their inspired and emotional debut album. the first track heard outside iceland was 'happiness' - the standout cut on 'the dark was the night' charity compilation album produced by aaron and bryce dessner of the national. 'happiness' sets the listener up for the next hour of listening by hypnotising and smothering your ears with yawning strings that grow and shrink in tone and volume. each track twinkles, shines, shimmers and stretches out for miles at a time. you really need to look underneath the sparsity and into the atmospherics the record creates. choir like vocals interlace with harmonic guitar feed-back as the faintest of white-noise rises in the background. it transforms the instruments into imaginative tools of creationism that work slowly but professionally, carving the majestic beauty that is this record.