Björk--Vulnicura

Icelandic artist Björk is certainly one of the most interesting characters in all of Nordic music, if not the entire music world. She has seemingly spent most of her long career roleplaying as some sort of Icelandic fairy, making sure that nobody this side of the Atlantic Ocean has any idea what she is doing most of the time. She is also known for her outrageous fashion choices, including the infamous "swan dress" that she wore at the Academy Awards in 2001. Here is a picture of said dress:

While she has certainly adopted an interesting persona over the course of her career, this has in no way detracted from her music. Beginning with 1993's aptly named "Debut", Björk embarked on a solo career that saw the release of many critically acclaimed albums. I had listened to "Debut" already, but decided to familiarize myself even more with Björk's eclectic body of work before reviewing her newest release.

First off, "Vulnicura" is unmistakably a Björk album. She possesses one of the most unique voices in music today--she can shift from a high warble to a much more commanding tone that one wouldn't expect from such a dainty individual. Björk's trademark use of strings and glitchy production appear on this album as well. However, one thing makes "Vulnicura" different from her other releases: context. Björk recently went through a breakup with artist Matthew Barney, with whom she had a daughter. Consequently, her new release is darker and edgier than its more ethereal predecessors. The album is filled with dark instrumentation and highly-mechanized beats, and this is used for good effect, especially on the beautifully morbid "Family". In this track, Björk asks "Is there a place/I can pay my respects/For the death of my family?". With this, she likens the disintegration of her relationship to the loss of a loved one, exposing her open wounds for us all to see. Another high point of the album is "Atom Dance". This song starts off innocuously, with the Icelandic singer cooing over sparse strings. The track eventually climaxes with the addition of what sounds like dozens of male voices overtop some of the best production I've heard in a while.

If you can't tell, I'm very partial to Björk and her music already, so my review may be a little biased. Despite this, I do believe that "Vulnicura" is probably the best album released yet this year (yes, I know that we're only 4 weeks in). The raw emotion behind this album causes it to be more than just a routine Björk release--it is one of her best in a while. The only gripe I have with this album--albeit slight-- is that most of the songs sound similar to each other. This is not a problem to me, however, since they all sound so damn good.

SCORE: 4/5

HIGHLIGHT: "Atom Dance"