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Hvarf/Heim is a compilation album by Sigur Rós. Its original CD release comprises two discs: Hvarf contains studio versions of previously unreleased songs (with the exception of "Hafsól", which was released as the b-side of "Hoppípolla" in 2005), while Heim contains live acoustic versions of songs already released. The songs on Heim are the same recordings found in Heima. In 2008 EMI released a single-disc version in which Heim is simply tracklisted to follow Hvarf. In 2012, the albums were issued on vinyl for the first time to be sold on Record Store Day. The cover images are pinhole polaroid photographs. The Hvarf cover is a handheld image of the microphone stands just before the band arrived to play in the gentle rain. The Heim cover is a 7-minute exposure of the stage at Gamla Borg where Sigur Rós performed an acoustic set for friends and family in April 2007.
The album was released on November 5 in Europe and on November 6 in North America. Prior to this release a limited 7" vinyl single of "Hljómalind" was released on 29 October. The album debut at #23 in UK, #7 on the US independent chart and #83 in Spain selling over 50,000 copies in first week worldwide. The album, as of June 2008, was certified Silver in the UK for 60,000+ being sold.
User Album Review
Sigur Rós, Icelandic pioneers with the decorative and complicated CD covers, emerged at a time when rock was spawning so many new sub-genres and tributaries that reviewers couldn't come up with labels quickly enough. 'post-rock', 'experimental', 'ambient'…you name it. Yet Sigur Rós defied them all and created a fan base that loved them for this very perversity, making them leaders, never followers. The band have deflected the trappings of success and yet remain as seminal as they were in 1995, releasing an eagerly awaited album every two to three years since. So far they have four, Hvarf-Heim being as close to a 'best of' as we’re ever likely to get.
The first disc of Hvarf-Heim (Disappeared-Home) belongs to an upcoming film release, Heima; the second offers a selection of acoustic tracks performed live on location while filming Heima in Iceland. With all the songs being unreleased numbers from previous releases, those expecting something new may be disappointed. But since their sound is so drifting, amorphous and sinuous, they may only betray their vintage to the most informed of their fans.
Their music is so intrinsically cinematic that it's surprising Sigur Rós haven't done more soundtrack work like so many of their contemporaries (Air, Daft Punk come to mind). Yet, as a piece of movie music this compilation makes more sense. It's not until the beginning of the second disc with "Samskeyti" that rock dynamics are alluded to. This is confirmed in the last few songs. Such a mood continues enjoyably until the end of the album where vocals are key to songs such as "Vaka" and "Agaetis Byrjun".
Sigur Rós' made up language is undeniably enchanting and transports the city-dwelling listener to barren landscapes of wintry wilderness.
Indeed, many of the songs feel like landscapes in themselves - some nine-minutes long - and the album feels like a journey through revisitation or renewal. It's a remarkable thing when you consider that their first studio release, Von, introduced the world to a new way of making 'rock' music. Maybe by now the world is ready…
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