Bjork - Vulnicura

When "Homogenic" was released, Bjork became an icon and a pioneer in electronic music, combining epic melodies, killer string arrangements, trip-hop beats and spooky vocals. It was the first time that it became actually obvious she is an elf from Iceland or something, leaving behind her dance and MTV era. "Vespertine" and "Medúlla" made clear that Bjork was not about to return to something mainstream anytime soon, thus revealing her constant desire to experiment with her productions. It took her three years to produce something you can call "almost mainstream" with "Volta" (Timbaland was involved), using percussions and horns all through the album, while her next effort, "Biophilia", was her first multimedia project with an extensive use of tablets, musical instruments especially designed for her and unusual time signatures. So what's next?

"Vulnicura" is next. Her brand new album has just leaked/been released, so it's available anywhere. With nine tracks written and produced by herself and Arca (Kanye West, FKA Twigs), this project could easily be the sequel of "Homogenic", using the same technology and the same instruments as "Biophilia". It's the most fragile and sensitive Bjork in years, for sure.

"Lionsong" is almost a pop song with an experimental arrangement, proving that when she wants it, she can write an actual chorus in a song (she did it in "Crystalline", too). "Black lake", the best track in here, creates a fragile utopia of her and her ex-lover ("Did I love you too much? Devotion and me broken. So I repent, destroyed."), but with a sense of an apology letter, not an actual situation. In "Family", The Haxan Cloak has helped in the production process, while in "Atom Dance", Antony Hegarty is singing along with her in full baritone mode and some heavy drum programming. "Notget" could and should be used in a brothers Nolan film about an uninhabitable planet. "Mouth mantra" works as a drug - you want to inhale every vocal, every violin and every sci-fi synth in it. It goes back, when Bjork used to sing electronic music produced by Nellee Hooper, so this is probably her most "Post" moment as far as "Vulnicura" is concerned.

Everyone is trying (once again) to figure out what Bjork and "Vulnicura" stand for. But the interesting thing is that Bjork stands for music, nothing else in particular. And that's all. She can write dance and pop music, but she does not give a fuck about doing so, she is beyond that. She uses technology, she arranges strings and horns the way no one has done in the past, she is constantly breaking time signature rules. She is the one and only musician today who has created something no one has not even dared to dream of creating. Bjork is a musical phenomenon. In 30 years, she will be a course in music schools and a legend in our laptops and our cd collections. That's what Bjork and "Vulnicura" stand for - music history, once again.

AnArtCalled... 9,5/10