Hello everyone and welcome to the latest miniseries called Do I LOVE Bjork Yet? Over the course of the next week, I will run through all eight of the Icelandic singer's solo albums and determine if she is in fact more than just a weird little performer with an equally strange voice. This will also feature a continual ranking of each entry as well as various thoughts on the music and occasionally production of her work. This is all leading up to her latest album "Vulnicura," which has been receiving critical praise. But will I LOVE it? Tune in every day to find out.
Album: "Medulla"
Released: August 30, 2004
Label: One Little Indian, Warner Brothers
Running Time: 45:40
Track Listing:
1. Pleasure is All Mine
2. Show Me Forgiveness
3. Where is the Line
4. Vokuro
5. Oll Birtan
6. Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)
7. Submarine
8. Desired Constallation
9. Oceania
10. Sonnets/Unrealities XI
11. Ancestors
12. Mouth's Cradle
13. Mikovikudags
14. Triumph of a Heart
Expectations: I am thinking that there was some form of a breakthrough on "Vespertine." While it still ranks as the third favorite Bjork album (so far), it felt like I was beginning to understand her charm. She is an artist who takes interesting risks and I am beginning to appreciate them. In fact, my eagerness to revisit "Vespertine" has only grown since first listening to it. There's something appealing that I hope will be more present in the remainder of her work. So fingers crossed that t his is true.
Best Song: "Where is the Line"
If there is one thing to admire about Bjork, is that she tries things that are outside of the box. The fact that most of the album is a'capella and features a lot of beat boxing doesn't seem to derive the more successful elements of this album. In this song, things clash perfectly as it captures the intensity with some intense beats being done. It feels organic and forces an attentive nature from the listener in a way that feels like the most realized example of this experimental album.
Worst Song: "Desired Constellations"
I am not entirely sure why I don't like this song, but it never feels like it takes off. It manages to hold onto the melodic consistency of the other songs, but being sandwiched between more ambitious melodic exercises may end up hurting the song. Where "Ancestors" manages to roar on vocal patterns alone, this song feels more traditional and also less interesting simultaneously. This isn't to discredit the album as a whole, which manages to make beat boxing into an art form.
Overall Thoughts: I will admit that I have come around heavily on Bjork in the past few albums. In this case, I admire her craft and come away appreciating the more experimental tracks, which there are many of. The personality feels assured and her coy idiosyncrasies build to something that is at times profound. However, I like the ideas on "Vespertine" only slightly more than this one, so I will have to give it the edge.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Do I LOVE Bjork Yet?: I am proud to say that I am finally ready to admit one truth. I like her. She is a very innovative artist who manages to take crazy ideas and just go for them. The results are at worst stark and at best profound in innovative ways that I don't think that I have heard before. This album isn't the best, but having listened to the other albums, I have a deeper appreciation for what she does right, which is a lot.
Ranking:
1. "Post" (1995)
2. "Debut" (1993)
3. "Vespertine" (2001)
4. "Medulla" (2004)
5. "Homogenic" (1997)
6. "Bjork" (1977)
Track Listing:
1. Pleasure is All Mine
2. Show Me Forgiveness
3. Where is the Line
4. Vokuro
5. Oll Birtan
6. Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)
7. Submarine
8. Desired Constallation
9. Oceania
10. Sonnets/Unrealities XI
11. Ancestors
12. Mouth's Cradle
13. Mikovikudags
14. Triumph of a Heart
Expectations: I am thinking that there was some form of a breakthrough on "Vespertine." While it still ranks as the third favorite Bjork album (so far), it felt like I was beginning to understand her charm. She is an artist who takes interesting risks and I am beginning to appreciate them. In fact, my eagerness to revisit "Vespertine" has only grown since first listening to it. There's something appealing that I hope will be more present in the remainder of her work. So fingers crossed that t his is true.
Best Song: "Where is the Line"
If there is one thing to admire about Bjork, is that she tries things that are outside of the box. The fact that most of the album is a'capella and features a lot of beat boxing doesn't seem to derive the more successful elements of this album. In this song, things clash perfectly as it captures the intensity with some intense beats being done. It feels organic and forces an attentive nature from the listener in a way that feels like the most realized example of this experimental album.
Worst Song: "Desired Constellations"
I am not entirely sure why I don't like this song, but it never feels like it takes off. It manages to hold onto the melodic consistency of the other songs, but being sandwiched between more ambitious melodic exercises may end up hurting the song. Where "Ancestors" manages to roar on vocal patterns alone, this song feels more traditional and also less interesting simultaneously. This isn't to discredit the album as a whole, which manages to make beat boxing into an art form.
Overall Thoughts: I will admit that I have come around heavily on Bjork in the past few albums. In this case, I admire her craft and come away appreciating the more experimental tracks, which there are many of. The personality feels assured and her coy idiosyncrasies build to something that is at times profound. However, I like the ideas on "Vespertine" only slightly more than this one, so I will have to give it the edge.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Do I LOVE Bjork Yet?: I am proud to say that I am finally ready to admit one truth. I like her. She is a very innovative artist who manages to take crazy ideas and just go for them. The results are at worst stark and at best profound in innovative ways that I don't think that I have heard before. This album isn't the best, but having listened to the other albums, I have a deeper appreciation for what she does right, which is a lot.
Ranking:
1. "Post" (1995)
2. "Debut" (1993)
3. "Vespertine" (2001)
4. "Medulla" (2004)
5. "Homogenic" (1997)
6. "Bjork" (1977)
UP NEXT: "Volta" (2007)
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