HOPPÍPOLLA

"Hoppípolla" was released by Sigur Rós as a single, and the song is included on the full- length studio album "Takk." In Icelandic "Hoppípolla" means Jumping into puddles, the song is sung mainly in Icelandic although some of the vocals are sung in Vonlenska also. The song gained large popularity through BBC's Planet Earth TV series which, in tern granted the band many fans and ensured the success of "Takk." The song was also used in the credits for the movie "Children of Men" as well as a few other ads/shows.

The song itself is a rather upbeat one and there is nothing dark about. It is quite a different song as most, if not all of the bands' previous songs are somewhat mellow. It is not a bad song by any means, and it really takes time to grow on you. "Með Blóðnasir" is in many ways a reprise of "Hoppípolla" and it features the same melody being chanted/sung and it is put to brilliant effect. For some reason the band decided to add "Hafsól" from their debut album "Von." Listening to "Hoppípolla", then "Hafsól" one can really get the sense of just how far the band has come.

Not a bad ep, although it is quite pointless if you already own "Takk" and I would not recommend it just for "Hafsól." It is a nice ep to have though and the cover art is similar to that of "Takk" as it is constructed with that same kind of black ink-wash. In the end 2 stars is fitting, a good 2 stars. Collectors/fans only