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: "Volta"
Released: May 1, 2007
Label: One Little Indian, Elektra
Running Time: 51:03
Track Listing:
1. Earth Intruders
2. Wanderlust
3. The Dull Flame of Desire
4. Innocence
5. I See Who You Are
6. Vertebrae by Vertebra
7. Pneumonia
8. Hope
9. Declare Independence
10. My Juvenile
Expectations: I have become a fan of Bjork's music over the past few albums and at very least admire the craft that she has put into the music. In this case, I have read that she is teaming up with more pop oriented producers, which makes me curious to see if this is a blend of her earlier work such as "Post" (which remains the favorite) or if it manages to blend with something more experimental like "Vespertine." I am excited, even if I worry that it is somewhat of a retread. Then again, Bjork isn't very much a retread type of person.
Best Song: "Earth Intruders"
It is both of a mislead and a threat of what the album will feature. The song opens with one of Bjork's most bombastic numbers since "Post." It is weird, funky and sets up the hypnotic glee that one should expect from Bjork at this point. However, it is also seven minutes long and features a very long outro that feels inconsequential. It is both fascinating and bloated in ways that the rest of the album doesn't quite avoid.
Worst Song: "I See Who You Are"
In an album full of Bjork's least memorable music in her professional career, she produces a song that manages to be minimalist yet also very familiar. She doesn't do much of interest on the song that saves the album from having any appeal. At least the other songs managed to have some appeal, even if there was a consistent desire for them to wrap up before they outstayed their welcome, which was always the case.
Overall Thoughts: I wish that I could say positive things about this album. It is an interesting broach back to her past, but it feels like the producers don't know what to do with Bjork. The one joy of Bjork has been that her music never outstayed their welcome. Even the dull songs were over before things would become bothersome. In this case, there were minutes per track where there was a need to hurry things up. The songs could have been fine if they were cleaned up and made leaner. For what they are, they are obnoxious and don't reflect anything interesting about Bjork. In fact, it may be her least accessible and successful album to date.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Do I LOVE Bjork Yet?: I claimed to have liked her in the previous post. However, I am glad that I didn't start with this album because it is a slog and I cannot stand it. I was bored halfway through and didn't know if I wanted to listen to the rest. I did out of professionalism and hope that it would pick up. Nope. It's a mediocre album that makes me thankful of the route that Bjork has gone prior to this. It's a lot more interesting than this.
Ranking:
1. "Post" (1995)
2. "Debut" (1993)
3. "Vespertine" (2001)
4. "Medulla" (2004)
5. "Homogenic" (1997)
6. "Volta" (2007)
7. "Bjork" (1977)
Track Listing:
1. Earth Intruders
2. Wanderlust
3. The Dull Flame of Desire
4. Innocence
5. I See Who You Are
6. Vertebrae by Vertebra
7. Pneumonia
8. Hope
9. Declare Independence
10. My Juvenile
Expectations: I have become a fan of Bjork's music over the past few albums and at very least admire the craft that she has put into the music. In this case, I have read that she is teaming up with more pop oriented producers, which makes me curious to see if this is a blend of her earlier work such as "Post" (which remains the favorite) or if it manages to blend with something more experimental like "Vespertine." I am excited, even if I worry that it is somewhat of a retread. Then again, Bjork isn't very much a retread type of person.
Best Song: "Earth Intruders"
It is both of a mislead and a threat of what the album will feature. The song opens with one of Bjork's most bombastic numbers since "Post." It is weird, funky and sets up the hypnotic glee that one should expect from Bjork at this point. However, it is also seven minutes long and features a very long outro that feels inconsequential. It is both fascinating and bloated in ways that the rest of the album doesn't quite avoid.
Worst Song: "I See Who You Are"
In an album full of Bjork's least memorable music in her professional career, she produces a song that manages to be minimalist yet also very familiar. She doesn't do much of interest on the song that saves the album from having any appeal. At least the other songs managed to have some appeal, even if there was a consistent desire for them to wrap up before they outstayed their welcome, which was always the case.
Overall Thoughts: I wish that I could say positive things about this album. It is an interesting broach back to her past, but it feels like the producers don't know what to do with Bjork. The one joy of Bjork has been that her music never outstayed their welcome. Even the dull songs were over before things would become bothersome. In this case, there were minutes per track where there was a need to hurry things up. The songs could have been fine if they were cleaned up and made leaner. For what they are, they are obnoxious and don't reflect anything interesting about Bjork. In fact, it may be her least accessible and successful album to date.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Do I LOVE Bjork Yet?: I claimed to have liked her in the previous post. However, I am glad that I didn't start with this album because it is a slog and I cannot stand it. I was bored halfway through and didn't know if I wanted to listen to the rest. I did out of professionalism and hope that it would pick up. Nope. It's a mediocre album that makes me thankful of the route that Bjork has gone prior to this. It's a lot more interesting than this.
Ranking:
1. "Post" (1995)
2. "Debut" (1993)
3. "Vespertine" (2001)
4. "Medulla" (2004)
5. "Homogenic" (1997)
6. "Volta" (2007)
7. "Bjork" (1977)
UP NEXT: "Biophilia" (2012)
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