Bjork - Medulla

by Anthony Strutt

published: 15 / 8 / 2004

Label: One Little Indian
Format: CD

intro

Difficult, but rewarding new album from Bjork, which finds her abandoning all instrumentation except for some programming, and is entirely vocally led

Bjork's new album 'Medulla' will be her most under looked album. It's hard work, because she has chosen to get rid of most of the instrumentation on it. Some programming is on it, but all the other instrumentation on it is made by vocal lines. Recorded in various countries and in over 18 different locations, I think that on the whole , it is a very brave piece of work. The opening track, 'Pleasure is All Mine', has Bjork sounding like she is out of breath, or she is breathing heavily because she is the middle of the sexual act. Wow, Bjork has sex on record ! We are lucky. On this, and many of the tracks that follow, lots of backing choirs add their voice to the work. 'Where is the Line ?' has an echoey bass drum groove to it and is very avant garde and sounds like it came from her 1997 album, 'Homogenic'. 'Vokuro' is sung in Icelandic and is very beautiful and sounds like a hymn. 'Oll Birtan' is double vocal lead, and is very experimental in approach. The scary 'Oceania' is sung as a duet with Robert Wyatt, while the short, lovely 'Submarine' sounds like a song sung to a lover after a lovers' fight. The final track, 'Triumph of a Heart', is to me the stand out track here and the most techno-sounding number is also the most commercial piece. On the whole, a very brave album from a very brave artist. God bless her ! The world would be so boring without her, and I wouldn't want to live in a Bjork less world.

Track Listing:-

1 Pleasure Is All Mine
2 Show Me Forgiveness
3 Where Is The Line
4 Vokuro
5 Oll Birtan
6 Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)
7 Submarine
8 Desired Constellation
9 Oceania
10 Sonnets / Unrealities XI
11 Ancestors
12 Mouths Cradle
13 Midvikudags
14 Triumph Of A Heart

Band Links:-

http://bjork.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bjork
https://plus.google.com/+Bjork
https://twitter.com/bjork
https://www.songkick.com/artists/492728-bjork
https://www.youtube.com/user/bjorkdotcom

Label Links:-

http://www.indian.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/olirecords
https://twitter.com/olirecords
http://www.songkick.com/users/onelittleindian
https://www.youtube.com/user/onelittleindian
https://plus.google.com/+OneLittleIndianRecords

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One of the world's finest artistes, Bjork has never been anything if not unpredictable. Long term fan Anthony Strutt finds her once again pushing back boundaries with her new box set, 'Family Tree'

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