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Since the beginning of her professional singing career at the age of 11, Bjork has kept herself extremely busy. She was in a few different punk bands in the late 1970s to early 1980s, before forming the alternative-rock wonders, the Sugarcubes, in 1986. They gained a large cult- following in the United States and England before disbanding in 1992. Soon after, Bjork moved to London and began her remarkably successful solo career. Since then, she has released three critically acclaimed solo albums, another album of remixes, and a score to the movie Dancer In The Dark, which she also starred in. Songs such as “Human Behavior,” “It’s Oh So Quiet,” and “Army Of Me” were played regularly on MTV and have won several awards for their originality. Finally, four years since her last release full-length album, Homogenic, Bjork has returned with her latest endeavor entitled Vespertine. The first thing that struck me about this album (as with all of Bjork’s other albums) was her unique vocals, which never fail to impress me. Bjork is one of the few vocalists I know who can go from sounding painful and tortured, to sweet and innocent, to beautifully seductive in a matter of seconds. Lyrically, Vespertine investigates mainly matters of love and relationships. Sometimes Bjork appears to be leaning towards the pessimistic side of things, such as in “It’s Not Up To You,” where she recites the lines: “If you wake up and your day feels broken, just lean into the crack and it will tremble ever so nicely.” I’m sure we can all relate to having days like this. However, there are just as many sweet and tender moments to bring your spirits back up. In “Unison” she sings about finding that special someone who completes her. She croons the lines: “I thrive best hermit style, with a beard and a pipe, and a parrot on each side. Now I can’t do this without you.” The music on Vespertine is full of intriguing electronic soundscapes and ethereal orchestration. It is almost like listening to a slightly more upbeat version of Homogenic. Every song is saturated with a variety of instruments, including intricate harp arrangements in songs such as “Unison” and “Pagan Poetry.” Another notable addition to Bjork’s sound is the inclusion of a choir in many of the songs. In “Aurora,” the choir’s vocals make an otherwise eerie song, flat-out frightening. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it does bring to mind horror movies that feature chilling choir-music just before someone is about to get slashed to bits. Overall, Vespertine is a very substantial collection of songs. However, it lacks the progression that Bjork has seemed to surprise us with from the transition of one album to the next. Her two previous albums, Post and Homogenic, sounded futuristic and incredibly unique when compared, musically, to anything else at the time. Aside from the addition of the choir and lusher string arrangements, Vespertine does not cover much new territory for Bjork. Don’t get me wrong, even though this album is not one of Bjork’s best efforts, it is well worth many listens. |
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