Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla

Sigur Ros
Hoppipolla
Video

'Hoppípolla', taken from Sigur Rós's most highly acclaimed album to date, 'Takk…', is to be re-released on May 1st. It has been inescapable to notice that 'Hoppípolla' is currently being used on Richard Attenborough's Planet Earth on bbc. This high profile exposure has sparked an upsurge of interest from the general public.

'Hoppípolla' is hands down the most commercial thing Sigur Rós have ever recorded. At just over 4 minutes long, it is also the only song anything like radio programmable they've ever put their name to. Starting with a simple and pretty piano motif, 'Hoppípolla' proceeds to layer slightly warped backwards string loops with beautiful real 'forward' strings to slowly construct a feeling of awesome well-being, surging on a tide of pure psychedelic pop euphoria.

Singer Jon Thor Birgisson adopts a slightly lower register than his usual full-on falsetto, weaving an open and childlike sense of hope through multi-layers of carefully constructed vocals, while he sings (in Icelandic) about nosebleeds and jumping into puddles. As the song expands to a grand and dizzying climax, brass begins to fanfare and an orchestra swells and flourishes, while all about tinkly things twinkle brightly.

'Með Blóðnasir', one of the additional tracks here, is also featured on 'Takk…'. It sits beautifully on the LP as the tail end of 'Hoppípolla' and so works perfectly as part of this release. Originally recorded on the band's 1998 debut album 'Von', 'Hafssól has taken on near mythic significance with the band's fans thanks to a magical live rendition that bears scant relation to the experimental original.