Björk (Exclusive To Readers Of The Observer)

About

You could say that Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born twice: First in Reykjavik in 1965—and again in the studio in 1993, thanks to her aptly titled solo <i>Debut</i>. By the early 1990, Björk had been a staple of Iceland’s alternative-music scene for more than a decade, thanks to her work with several scrappy local band, as well as her time with The Sugarcube, the co-ed quintet that shot to international fame thanks to its 1988 hit “Birthday”—a song all but defined by Björk’s inimitable breathless vocal. But none of that earlier work prepared listeners for <i>Debut</i>—an album that belongs within another solar system entirely. It’s a strange and singular piece of work, one that seemed to emerge fully formed from Björk’s deep creative wellspring. Indeed, as a guide to the next few decades of Björk’s career, there could hardly be lyrics more fitting than those on <i>Debut</i>’s opening track, the galloping, frost-tipped hit “Human Behaviour”: “And there is no map/And a compass wouldn’t help at all.” Armed with years’ worth of song sketches—including a few compositions she’d started while still in her teens—Björk passed through several early collaborators on <i>Debut</i> before opting to work with British producer Nellee Hooper, who’d recently helped make hits for Sinéad O’Connor and Soul II Soul. The result is a dance-floor outlier threaded through with brightly syncopated beats and global-citizen flourishe. “Venus as a Boy” sways to an unhurried, almost tropical rhythm, while “Big Time Sensuality” finds its joyful backbone in rubber-band electro-funk. The lovestruck ballad “Come to Me,” meanwhile, shivers with woozy longing and ice-crystal orchestration. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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