Bjork's new album came out today! I absolutely love it!

It's gotten mixed reviews but I think it's brilliant.

It's very Bjork! I think if you like her, you will love it since it has echoes of her previous albums. But if you don't get her or find her too weird, I don't think it will change your mind.

I want to see her live again. But in recent years, she has mostly avoided the US. Hope she changes her mind and plays here.

i don't know what to think yet. i suppose i'll need to listen to it again, once or twice,
before i can be sure.

there are beautiful moments, for sure. but i do miss actual songs. it's gotten 'worse'
and worse with progressive albums.

and even more than songs i miss melodies. vocal melodies. actual verses sung with
beautiful melodies and harmonies.

these days it's all just sing/speaking, almost reciting, and the 'wailing' has got to a
point where it's distracting and droning.

furthermore, as much as was made about the flute and the birdsong on this album,
i feel like it gets lost in the electronics.

and i had such high hopes for the colaboration with arca but it feels like some of
these songs are arca instrumentals laid on top of bjork 'ideas', conflicting each other.
in many places the electronics and the acoustics contradict each other to the point of
sounding like a mistake, as if you're playing two different songs at once.

yet with so much going on all of the time, the album feels strangely meandering and
samey. probably because there are so few memorable melodies. the tapestry of the
interwoven sounds is extremely beautiful at moments, but cluttered and harsh at a
lot of others.

my favorit moment is the wolverine though that's so fun, and cool

not quite sure about some of the lyrics either. the mention of mp3's and fuck ups,
just seem forced, somehow.

still, after all those gripes, i love that she just does what she wants to do and makes
music for herself first and foremost. as such, i can appreciate her albums and return
to them once in a while, even if i don't particularly like them anymore -none of them
post vespertine has been to my liking start to finish although all of them had at least
a handful of amazing songs.

as a piece of sound art, it's great. as an album to enjoy for the songs, it's very 'meh'.

IstenSzek said:

i don't know what to think yet. i suppose i'll need to listen to it again, once or twice,
before i can be sure.

there are beautiful moments, for sure. but i do miss actual songs. it's gotten 'worse'
and worse with progressive albums.

and even more than songs i miss melodies. vocal melodies. actual verses sung with
beautiful melodies and harmonies.

these days it's all just sing/speaking, almost reciting, and the 'wailing' has got to a
point where it's distracting and droning.

furthermore, as much as was made about the flute and the birdsong on this album,
i feel like it gets lost in the electronics.

and i had such high hopes for the colaboration with arca but it feels like some of
these songs are arca instrumentals laid on top of bjork 'ideas', conflicting each other.
in many places the electronics and the acoustics contradict each other to the point of
sounding like a mistake, as if you're playing two different songs at once.

yet with so much going on all of the time, the album feels strangely meandering and
samey. probably because there are so few memorable melodies. the tapestry of the
interwoven sounds is extremely beautiful at moments, but cluttered and harsh at a
lot of others.

my favorit moment is the wolverine though that's so fun, and cool

not quite sure about some of the lyrics either. the mention of mp3's and fuck ups,
just seem forced, somehow.

still, after all those gripes, i love that she just does what she wants to do and makes
music for herself first and foremost. as such, i can appreciate her albums and return
to them once in a while, even if i don't particularly like them anymore -none of them
post vespertine has been to my liking start to finish although all of them had at least
a handful of amazing songs.

as a piece of sound art, it's great. as an album to enjoy for the songs, it's very 'meh'.

Everyone grows out of their Björk phase … except Björk.

Cloudbuster said:

Everyone grows out of their Björk phase … except Björk.

that is both philosophical and true

let's

Cloudbuster said:

Everyone grows out of their Björk phase … except Björk.

I haven't! I don't understand why people seem to expect Bjork to be some type of conventional mainstream pop artist with traditional songs, hooks and melodies. There are plenty of catchy pop stars out there if that's what you are looking for.

She even in her earlier days was always more avant garde and unconventional.

Glindathegood said:

Cloudbuster said:

Everyone grows out of their Björk phase … except Björk.

I haven't! I don't understand why people seem to expect Bjork to be some type of conventional mainstream pop artist with traditional songs, hooks and melodies. There are plenty of catchy pop stars out there if that's what you are looking for.

She even in her earlier days was always more avant garde and unconventional.

i don't think 'vespertine' is full of traditional songs hooks and melodies,
yet it's one of the most beautiful albums ever. because there ARE hooks
melodies and actual songs, be it refreshingly weird and bjork-ish.

and every album since has had a few beautiful songs (ambergris march,
triumph/constellations, innocence/i see who u are, crystalline/virus and
stonemilker to name only a few).

but as i said, it's very early to just say the new album isn't my cup of tea
at all and i'll spend some more time with it the coming months. it's not
like there are very many other artists i still care enough about to listen to
their music more than once so why not

mynameisnotsusan said:

I jumped off around Medulla - I absolutely loved her and still think her 'pop' is like the best ever - but I don't think I've heard a complete new song since then. Like nothing - haven't even bumped into one by accident.

completely agree.

I have tried so hard to love Medulla onward as much as Vespertine / Homogenic... but my god.. WTF happened?

Sometimes I think I have stopped being "cool" or 'enlightened" because I just dont get it!

I just want some beats and melodies and lyrics!

No one can put Bjork in a bottle. Her aesthetic/outfits gone on a whole new level in past decade. I'm not sure is it a visible substitute 4 a mess she is making from volta onwards or just artristic freedom that is visible in that recent custom made Gucci dress?

Utopia is a mess. Seems like Medieval - baroque inspiration. Birds, strings and choirs are saving the album - big time. Her repetitive behaviour on singing with boring range, phrasing and melisma is stubbornly offensive.

I'm liking futuristic approach on themes, i am generally fan of that.

For me this is like classical album, like some Arnold Schönberg. You can't undestand it at first, but it gets under your skin. Better than Biophillia and Vulnicura. 6.5/10

[Edited 11/26/17 10:39am]

I liked it actually and it is full of sounds and studio techniques unique to her. But like all her other albums I cant hardly remember what it sounds like after its done. Its a good listening experience though and I appreciate her art always.

B Jork cute.

Glindathegood said:

Bjork's new album came out today! I absolutely love it!

It's gotten mixed reviews but I think it's brilliant.

It's very Bjork! I think if you like her, you will love it since it has echoes of her previous albums. But if you don't get her or find her too weird, I don't think it will change your mind.

I want to see her live again. But in recent years, she has mostly avoided the US. Hope she changes her mind and plays here.

I love Bjork, but this album does nothing for me.
She's about to release a flute centric live version of this album, maybe that will be better.