Having teased us over a week ago with a clip from its accompanying video, Jónsi’s new single has arrived. Other than the occasional film score for big-budget popcorn fodder such as We Bought A Zoo and How to Train Your Dragon 2, the Icelandic musician has remained remarkably quiet over the last decade. This new song “Exhale“ marks Jónsi’s first solo material since his 2010 debut Go.
breathe in… breathe out… “exhale” coming April 23. Prod. by @agcook404 & Jónsi. click here to pre-save: https://t.co/0zzLdn6yVV pic.twitter.com/LBLhbfwkMa
— Jónsi (@iamjonsi) April 13, 2020
Sparse, despondent piano chords stir the track into life, accompanied by a breathy vocal delivery that lives up to the promise of the song’s title. It’s easy to forget at this point that co-producing alongside Jónsi is avant-pop provocateur A.G. Cook, the founder of the internet-based label PC Music.
Easy, that is, until we’re reminded of Cook’s presence when a staccato of his breakbeats mince their way through the lush bedrock provided for him. Watch the single’s official music video below, directed by American actor Giovanni Ribisi as well as Jónsi himself.
Surprisingly enough, this isn’t the first time Jónsi has embarked on a pop crossover. That accolade goes to “Revelation“, a collaborative single he released with the Australian pop star Troye Sivan way back in 2018.
Despite an end to Jónsi’s dry spell, a follow-up to Go has not been announced yet. Though if you’re champing at the bit for more from the post-rock pioneer, you’re in luck; as one half of the ambient duo Dark Morph (the other being Swedish composer Carl Michael von Hausswolff) Jónsi will appear on the sequel to their 2019 self-titled album in May. Pre-order the album here.
Photo Credit: Lilja Birgisdóttir
