Shiver
Studio album by
Jónsi
Released2 October 2020 (2020-10-02)
Recorded
  • Reykjavík, Iceland
  • Berlin, Germany
  • London, England
  • Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland
Length52:28
LabelKrunk
Producer
Jónsi chronology
Dark Morph II
(2020)		 Shiver
(2020)		 Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (Soundtrack)
(2021)
Singles from Shiver
  1. "Exhale"
    Released: 23 April 2020
  2. "Swill"
    Released: 24 June 2020
  3. "Cannibal"
    Released: 14 August 2020
  4. "Salt Licorice"
    Released: 30 September 2020
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.7/10[1]
Metacritic71/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Clash7/10[4]
Loud and Quiet7/10[5]
NME[6]
Pitchfork5.5/10[7]
Under the Radar[8]

Shiver is the second studio album by Icelandic musician Jónsi, frontman of the post-rock band Sigur Rós.[9][10][11] The album was released on 2 October 2020 via Krunk. It comes 10 years after his previous solo effort, Go. It was made in collaboration with English music producer, singer and head of record label PC Music, A. G. Cook.

The album is 11 tracks long and features a largely electronic musical palette, differing from the music Jónsi has created in the past. It was supported by the singles "Exhale", "Swill", "Cannibal" and "Salt Licorice". It features collaborations with Scottish singer and vocalist of the band Cocteau Twins, Elizabeth Fraser, and Swedish singer Robyn. The album cover was shot by Barnaby Roper.

Background

On 8 May 2018, A. G. Cook took part in Sigur Rós' Liminal takeover on NTS Radio. Cook shared remixes of Sigur Rós tracks, as well as demos for Jónsi,[12] hinting at further collaboration between the two in the future.

On 28 June 2019, Jónsi was interviewed by The Feed SBS, where he shared he had an upcoming collaboration with Swedish singer Robyn for his next album, stating, "It's really good. It’s full on like thump, thump, thump.”[13]

On 3 April 2020, Jónsi took to Instagram to announce that he was releasing music later that month.[14]

Release and promotion

On 14 April 2020, Jónsi announced his lead single off of Shiver, "Exhale", would be released 23 April.[15] "Exhale" was released with an accompanying music video, directed by Jónsi and Giovanni Ribisi.[16]

On 20 June, Jónsi announced another single, "Swill", set for release on 24 June.[17] "Swill" was released with an accompanying music video, directed by Barnaby Roper.[18]

The same day, Jónsi announced that his second studio album Shiver would be released on 2 October of the same year; the album preorder and track listing were also made available. Jónsi wrote in a press release announcing the album:[19]

Not too long ago Jónsi was traveling through London, where he met up with iconoclastic producer A. G. Cook, who he admired for his boundary-breaking work with the PC Music collective. He had no expectation for the meeting, but the more they talked, the more he realized they might be perfect collaborators. "I've been doing this for 30 years," Jónsi says. "I get tired of everything really easily. I always want things to be fun and exciting and fresh, and doing another album...I just wanted to have a different approach." Jónsi had made a career on sweeping music that plumbed the depths of the human experience and our connection to the natural world. Cook’s production exists at the opposite end of the spectrum: synthetic, sometimes abrasive, and often on the cutting edge of experimentalism. On paper, their collaboration is surprising, but Shiver is a beautiful record that pushes Jónsi's otherworldly voice into startling new territories.

On 1 August, Jónsi began teasing another single release for the album,[20] followed by another teaser on 8 August.[21] On 12 August, Jónsi announced the release of "Cannibal", which features Scottish singer and vocalist of the band Cocteau Twins, Elizabeth Fraser, as the third single from the album, due for release on 14 August.[22] It was released with an accompanying music video, directed by Jónsi and Giovanni Ribisi.[23]

Jónsi began releasing teasers for tracks on the album, beginning on 17 September,[24] and ending on 24 September.[25]

Jónsi confirmed the release of the final single for the album, "Salt Licorice" featuring Swedish singer Robyn, on 29 September.[26] The single was released the next day on 30 September, with an accompanying music video directed by Jónsi & Rene van Pannevis, which Jónsi filmed in lockdown.[27]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jónsi and produced by A. G. Cook and Jónsi, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Exhale"
 5:12
2."Shiver" 
4:19
3."Cannibal" (with Elizabeth Fraser)
  • Cook
  • Jónsi
  • Petitfrère[a]
4:58
4."Wildeye"
  • Jónsi
  • Cook
  • Cook
  • Jónsi
  • Petitfrère[a]
4:36
5."Sumarið sem aldrei kom" 
  • Cook
  • Jónsi
  • Petitfrère[a]
6:44
6."Kórall"
  • Jónsi
  • Cook
  • Cook
  • Jónsi
  • Petitfrère[a]
  • Jack Armitage[a]
6:22
7."Salt Licorice" (with Robyn)  3:47
8."Hold"
  • Jónsi
  • Cook
 3:00
9."Swill"  3:50
10."Grenade"  5:32
11."Beautiful Boy"  4:09
Total length:52:28
Japanese bonus track [28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Mold"
  • Jónsi
  • Cook
4:22
Total length:56:57

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • "Beautiful Boy" is a reworking of the track "TB8" by Frakkur, a Jónsi side project.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Jónsi's Instagram.[29]

Additional performers

Technical

  • A. G. Cook – engineering (all tracks)
  • Nicolas Petitfrère – additional engineering (track 5)
  • Damon Reece – additional engineering (track 3)
  • Alex Somers – additional engineering (tracks 7, 8 and 10)
  • Geoff Swan – mixing (all tracks)

Design and artwork

  • Sarah Hopper – design
  • Jónsi – design
  • Pandagunda – inside image
  • Barnaby Roper – cover photography, inside image

Charts

Chart performance for Shiver
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 88

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 2 October 2020 Krunk [32]
CD
  • LP
  • limited LP

References

  1. ↑ "Shiver by Jónsi reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "Shiver by Jónsi Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Shiver - Jónsi". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Bains, Callum (2 October 2020). "Jónsi - Shiver". Clash. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  5. ↑ Hedderman, Zara (28 September 2020). "Jónsi - Shiver - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (1 October 2020). "Jónsi – 'Shiver' review: Sigur Rós frontman lets his hair down with a little help from Robyn". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Howe, Brian (21 October 2020). "Jónsi: Shiver Album Review Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  8. ↑ Gourlay, Dom (1 October 2020). "Jónsi: Shiver (Krunk) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Bloom, Madison (24 June 2020). "Sigur Rós' Jónsi Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Jónsi announces Shiver, first album in 10 Years featuring Robyn and Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser". Consequence of Sound. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  11. ↑ "Sigur Rós Singer Jónsi Announces New Album 'Shiver'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  12. ↑ A. G. Cook - Hollywood Ambient, retrieved 2020-08-10
  13. ↑ Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi opens up about his personal life for the first time in his 25-year career, retrieved 2020-08-10
  14. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "🎹I'm releasing new music later this month 🎹 follow me on @spotify and @youtube for updates via the link in my bio"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  15. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "breathe in... breathe out... 💫 "exhale" coming april 23. Prod. by @agcook404 & Jónsi. click the link in my bio to pre-save"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  16. ↑ "Jónsi Makes Epic Return With 'Exhale' Video". Spin. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  17. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "🌀 swill 🌀 produced by @agcook404 & me. june 24. pre-save now via link in bio 🌀"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  18. ↑ June 2020, Jerry Ewing25 (25 June 2020). "Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi releases video for new single Swill". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Shiver, by Jónsi". Jónsi. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  20. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "⚫️⚪️🌀"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  21. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "⚪️ Coming soon.... ⚪️"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  22. ↑ "Jónsi's Instagram post: "⚪️ Cannibal (with Elizabeth Fraser) Friday Aug 14th. Pre-save via the link in bio ⚪️"". Retrieved 2020-08-12 – via Instagram.
  23. ↑ "Jónsi with Elizabeth Fraser - Cannibal (Official Video) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  24. ↑ @iamjonsi (September 16, 2020). "Shiver" (Tweet). Archived from the original on Sep 16, 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ @iamjonsi (September 23, 2020). "Grenade" (Tweet). Archived from the original on Oct 5, 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "🖤⚫️🖤 salt licorice is out this Wednesday ft @robynkonichiwa we had so much fun making this in reykjavik many 🌛🌚🌜's ago 🖤⚫️🖤 link in bio to…"". Retrieved 2020-10-01 – via Instagram.
  27. ↑ @iamjonsi (September 29, 2020). "My lockdown video filmed by me" (Tweet). Archived from the original on Sep 29, 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  28. ↑ "Jónsi / ヨンシー「Shiver / シヴァー」 | Warner Music Japan". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  29. ↑ "Jónsi on Instagram: "💫 2nd October. My new album Shiver will be released. 💫 Pre-order here via the link in my bio"". Retrieved 2020-08-10 – via Instagram.
  30. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  31. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jónsi – Shiver". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  32. ↑ "Shiver, by Jónsi". Jónsi. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
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