Medulla
Feeling constrained by the punkish stylings of her band the Sugarcubes, Bjork decides to head out on her own. Where she heads is England, which in the early 90s is caught up in the dance house music trend. Bjork thus hooks up with producers and musicians to make her debut album which is unimaginatively entitled Debut. Now most of the album sounds dated due to the production techniques of the early 90s. However this does not detract from the beauty of Bjorks voice and the solidness of this album.
�Human Behavior� was the first single and the first song off the album. The song is driven by its percussion with great sampled timpani and of course Bjorks voice which is practically an instrument of its own. �Crying� is next and has a great dance hall bass sound with lyrics dealing with isolation and a great chorus. Then there is my favorite song off the album, being �Venus as a Boy.� There is no denying the beauty in the melody in the chorus of �He believes in a beauty....Venus as a Boy.� The innovative use of a bottle smashing adds a certain touch to the dreamlike aura of the song. �There�s More to Life Than This� was recorded live in an actual club and catches the atmosphere of a early morning party that is still at full swing. Bjork�s growling vocals during this song are incredible. Oddly enough comes a cover of an old jazz standard done by people such as Frank Sinatra entitled �Like Someone in Love.� The use of harp is effective in turning what was a jazzy piece into a more otherworldly ode to love.
�Big Time Sensuality� brings the record back to a more upbeat mood as Bjork sings about taking risks and looking forward to what a new love might bring. The more somber �One Day� oozes with a slowly pulsing beat as Bjork uses her vocals in this sensual (although admittedly draggy) song. Some horns are added during �Aeroplane� which features what I think is the theme of the album wrapped up in one soaring stanza �How come out of all the people in the world only ONE can make me complete?� The next song �Come to Me� is soft and quiet with a great repeating piano riff that highlights the mood of longing and desire. One of Bjork�s main contradictions is seen in �Violently Happy.� Many of her songs about love sounds violent, and many of her more violent sounding songs have heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics and themes. This song is no exception, talking about how she is in so much love that it may be harmful to her and to others. The closing �Anchor Song� with its atonal honking saxes and horns is the wistful last track of the album. Its lyrics are simple and direct words about being home and feeling blissful and peaceful about it. It is an intriguing end to the debut album from a woman who is one of the few artists today who has improved upon her work.
Final Comment: Bjork the solo artist has arrived and thank God. This is only the beginning of a truly innovative career by one of the few truly honest artists out there today and a great place to start.
Score: *** 1/2
Bjork followed up her smash hit debut album Debut with 1995s Post. This being her second album, the usual sophomore slump is expected. Well it does occur. This album is sometimes hailed as her best but I find it to be vastly inferior to her first effort and her work to come. Teaming up with famous techno/dance producers Nellee Hooper and others, she creates an album of dance laden tunes like the first one, just more lethargic and less exciting.
The album starts with a bang with the angry �Army of Me� where Bjork declares her intentions of vengeance to any possible cheating lovers. This starting burst of energy is then slowed down by the mind numbing string filled ode of the appropriately titled �Hyper-Ballad,� that I find dull and it long outstays its welcome. �The Modern Things� gives Bjork�s unique voice an opportunity to shine against distorted drums and light musical flourishes as she sings strange lyrics about how �modern things have always existed� and how they hide in the mountains. OoooooooooK. Probably the most famous song is �It�s Oh So Quiet� which got the Spike Jonze video treatment and sounds as if its straight out of a Hollywood musical. It�s decent enough but Bjork�s screams in the song and constant time and dynamic changes (done just for the heck of it) grate on my nerves. I do enjoy �Enjoy� (hahaha) with its throbbing dance beats and random bleats of horns, especially when the song ends with a great little mini rave jam.
�You�ve Been Flirting Again� brings things down to a deathly crawl as Bjork struggles with cheating in a relationship. This type of thing will be done much better in the future. �Isobel� is another ballad in the same vein as the earlier �Hyper-Ballad� but I like this one better. The strings are effective and beautifully arranged and Bjork�s �ooohh ooohh ohhh�s and �na na na na na na�s are enchanting. (They sound better than I typed them, trust me). �Possibly Maybe� never gets better than its neat repeating piano riff at the start of the song and other technical treatments. Sometimes Bjork can just ramble and the only thing keeping it interesting are the lyrics and the musical flourishes in the background. I do like �I Miss You� with its programmed beats and horns with a Latin taste to them and the lyrical oddities of �I Miss You but I haven�t met you yet.� I sometimes feel exactly that way. Unfortunately the last two songs �Cover Me� and �Headphones� rock me to sleep. I�m sure there is something deep in these songs or something, but by this point I probably ended the listening time with �I Miss You.�
Final Comment: I miss you interesting Bjork! Oh goody here she comes on the next album!
Score: **
Bjork goes dark. After some deep emotional turmoil in her life involving love and all the usual suspects, Bjork goes back to her roots. By that I mean she makes an album that most reflects her native Iceland. She describes the album as having fire and ice, the two elements that somehow coexist and make up her country. This contrast is seen on this, her third studio album and considered by many fans to be her best.
A really neat stuttering drum beat kicks off the first track �Hunter.� This is my favorite song off of the whole album with Bjork cooly singing about being the hunter with these atmospheric �oooohhh�s in the background. The bridge is absolutely soaring with the beautiful line of �I thought I could organize freedom, how Scandinavian of me.� A great and emotional song. �Joga� is a string filled ballad with the repeated refrain of �STATE OF EMERGENCY.� The techno beat flavorings and dissonant beats make for a fine song. �Unravel� has a moody atmosphere and a tear inducing vocal by Bjork about lost love. �Bachelorette� has booming timpani and piano chords that set a dark mood. Bjork gives her all on this track, hitting some great falsetto and showing her full lung and giving meaning to lyrics such as �like a killer whale.� The next song �All Neon Like� is another soft song like �Unravel,� that gives Bjork�s voice a chance to shine.
The second half starts with �5 Years� and has some great electronica stylings along with a superb melody. �Immature� brings things back into the soft meandering ballad style that Bjork is so fond of. She sings of love and regret and about how immature she has been in the past with some absolutely breathtaking guttural yells. �Alarm Call� is like a manifesto set to music, as Bjork sings about how the world must change. This is the most upbeat track on the album and has the famous line of �I�m no f****** Buddhist, but this is enlightenment.� All of a sudden �Pluto� breaks in. With its highly distorted drum and bass work along with a treated Bjork vocal, this song is the heaviest thing that Bjork has ever done. (And has some more great yells and ooohhss, Bjork is quite possibly the only person able to make screams sound musical and poignant). Ending the album is �All is Full of Love� which is most famous for its video of robots which the designers of the movie I, Robot ripped off. Bjork gives an absolutely heartbreaking performance on this song over the beautifully arranged string background, giving hope to all who listen that love is eternal and everywhere no matter what happens.
Final Comment: This is more like it. Very resonant and honest.
Score: ****