Classic songs: ‘Hyperballad’ by Björk.

I cannot speak for anybody else, but back in 1995 when Björk released her second album, Post, I had hoped it would extend stylistically upon what Björk achieved on her debut. It’s fair to say, I was blown away by its result. Even today when you drop the needle (if you still love vinyl) and play Post from start to finish, it’s easy to hear what a monumental album it is. Believe me when I say this… it was an album too good to ignore. Every song on it is an inspiration, one way or the other. It was the album that briefly steered me away from my worship of guitar rock of the early-to-mid 1990s. So here was Bjork’s Post competing for my attention up against the likes of Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy. 

Post pushed boundaries, no doubt and expanded upon what alternative electro pop could be. Like its predecessor, Post extended upon Björk’s insatiable appetite for experimentation, encompassing industrial beats, trance, electronica, big band jazz and more. The central theme of the album captures Björk’s move from Iceland to London, where she immersed herself in London’s club culture and urban fast lanes. Along for the ride she employed the likes of Tricky, Graham Massey, Howie B, Eumnir Deodato and Nellee Hooper to bring about the sense of musical promiscuity she was aiming for. 

Look no further than Post opening track, Army of Me, and it’s hard-hitting abrasive industrial beat. Lyrically, it’s about the destructive behaviour of Björk’s brother. Hoping for more? Björk’s experimentation also duly extends across tracks like Isobel‘s orchestral blanket, to the world music-infused I Miss You, via the disorientating electronics/trip-hop brilliance of Possibly Maybe. There’s also It’s Oh So Quiet, Björk big band extravaganza. But the album’s best moment arguably arrives with Hyperballad, an electronic masterpiece many fans and critics call Björk’s greatest song.   

The pleasure in listening to Hyperballad comes from how it slowly builds from an intimate, ambient synth arrangement to a mind blowing, euphoric house/techno anthem. It’s punctuated throughout by Bjork’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics.

In the song, Björk describes throwing “little things” off a cliff in the mornings, “like car parts, bottles and cutlery or whatever I find lying around.” She goes on to describe it as “a habit, a way to start the day.” It’s a symbolic ritual which helps Björk (in the song) release all her pent-up frustration and anger. It’s also ultimately her way of being true to herself (happier even), before returning to her lover before he wakes up. 

In an interview with Record Collector’s David Hemingway, Björk once said, “[Hyperballad] is about when you’re in a relationship and it’s going really well and you’re really happy and maybe you have given up parts of yourself. To fall in love and be in a relationship for a long time is like giving a lot of parts of you away because the relationship becomes more important than you as individuals. It’s a bit of a tricky balance. I think everyone in a relationship needs to know not to forget themselves… Obviously, it’s imaginary and didn’t actually happen: she wakes up before him and sneaks out and throws stuff off a cliff so she can climb back into bed and go ‘Good morning, honey’. There’s maybe a side of you that you can’t fit into a relationship.” 

While I wouldn’t call it a throw away line, the lyrics where she talks about imagining ‘what my body would sound like / Slamming against those rocks” feels like a metaphorical exercise in purging one’s demons. Yes, it’s morbid, but I wouldn’t read too much into it.

Overall the song’s themes of emotional self-preservation and love shine through rather than the terrifying opposite. The repeated refrain of “safe up here with you” makes you feel both serene and frantic at the same time. Here I’m rooting for Björk to find her happy place. This all comes to a head in the climax which feels like it’s about to explode, when suddenly it abruptly subsides away, creating a sense of calm. A cathartic release, no less.