Jónsi Announces First New Album in a Decade, Drops New Single ‘Swill’

Following the release of his new single “Exhale,” Jónsi Birgisson has announced Shiver, his first new solo album in a decade, out October 2nd via Krunk.

The Sigur Rós frontman also dropped a stark new song, “Swill,” accompanied by surreal new video directed by Barnaby Roper and animated by Pandagunda. “I strap lace around your skinny waist,” he sings across a set of ooh ooh’s. “It might as well have been/My neck that’s hanging in.”

Speaking with Rolling Stone about the track, Jónsi said, “It’s basically about when you get too drunk and do something stupid,” he laughs. “And you make a fool of yourself.”

Shiver follows Jónsi’s 2010’s solo debut Go. He’s worked on several projects in the years since, including two Sigur Rós records (Valtari and Kveikur), two LPs with Swedish artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff (Dark Morph and Dark Morph II) and even a solo art exhibit in Los Angeles last year. But he’s been working on Shiver throughout the last decade, with some songs even dating back 15 years. 

“It’s definitely a weird time in the world,” he says, noting that his quarantine first consisted of “watching a lot of TV, being sloppy and not really creative. I also got the virus, so I got sick for two or three weeks.” Now, though, he’s spent time working on music, film, sculptural work and perfume.

Shiver features contributions from Robyn and Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser. Jónsi originally intended to produce the record himself, but ended up joining forces with PC Music’s A.G. Cook, known for his work with Charli XCX. “We decided to work on one song together and see how it goes and it really worked,” he says. “He stripped it down for me because when you’re doing everything yourself, you go a little bit crazy. He built the songs again from scratch.”

Shiver is currently available for preorder.

Shiver Tracklist

1. Exhale
2. Shiver
3. Cannibal (with Liz Fraser)
4. Wildeye
5. Sumarið Sem Aldrei Kom
6. Kórall
7. Salt Licorice (with Robyn)
8. Hold
9. Swill
10. Grenade
11. Beautiful Boy