The 2009 album Caroline Polachek thinks could change the world
Caroline Polachek, known for her genre-defying, avant-garde pop, once named Riceboy Sleeps as the album she believes could change the world if everyone heard it, rather than picking a single song. The choice is notable because Polachek's own music, however experimental, tends to retain pop hooks and melodic structure, whereas Riceboy Sleeps largely abandons conventional songcraft altogether, making the recommendation a striking window into her broader musical philosophy.
Riceboy Sleeps is a 2009 ambient collaboration between Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi and his partner, composer Alex Somers, built around slowly accumulating textures rather than verses, choruses or singles. Tracks such as "Boy 1904" and "All the Big Trees" blend children's choirs, strings, guitar and field recordings into a single evolving atmosphere. Polachek, who has cited influences from Enya and the Cocteau Twins to Katy Perry, sees a shared studio-as-instrument ethos with the album, even though it pushes that idea towards far greater abstraction than her own work.
- Polachek named Riceboy Sleeps, not a single song, as world-changing.
- The 2009 Jónsi/Alex Somers album favours texture over song structure.
- She sees it as sharing her studio-driven, boundary-pushing approach to music.
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Riceboy Sleeps is a 2009 ambient album made by Jónsi, the singer of Icelandic band Sigur Rós, together with his partner, composer Alex Somers. Rather than songs with verses and choruses, it is built from slow-moving layers of sound, mixing children's choirs, strings, guitar and recordings of everyday noises into long, drifting pieces.
Caroline Polachek is a singer and songwriter known for pop music that experiments with unusual sounds and structures while still keeping strong melodies and hooks. She has spoken about the artists who shape her work, ranging from Enya and the Cocteau Twins to Katy Perry, and has pointed to Riceboy Sleeps as the record she thinks could change the world if more people listened to it.
This matters because Polachek picking such an unconventional, largely wordless album, rather than a more typical pop favourite, offers an unusual glimpse into the musical values behind her own more accessible work.