Known for her quirky sense of style and music, Björk (pronounced byerk) is an Icelandic singer-songwriter and the former lead singer of The Sugarcubes before their breakup in 1992. In 1993, she started her solo career with her album Debut. Her later releases, Post and Homogenic, branched off and began to show her more unique artistry.
In 2001, Björk would release Vespertine, which would later be claimed by many fans as her best work. Vespertine was followed by Medulla in 2004, which was received well, but not as greatly as its predecessor. They have completely contrasting sounds; Vespertine is a glitchy album, focusing on mechanical and computerized sounds, while Medulla is nearly entirely composed of human voices, including choirs, Inuit throat singing, beatboxing, and nearly everything in between.
My interpretation of Vespertine is that it is about the excitement and intimacy of a new relationship. It focuses on love and marriage. The lyrics in “Hidden Place” illustrate an idea that a new relationship is so wonderful, but also something you want to keep to yourself—to keep it in your hidden place.
Vespertine has to be one of my favorite albums of all time. When listening to it, I find it hard to change to new music because it is such a great listen. Each song feels completely unique and has its own sound, while still forming a cohesive album. Each song tells its own story and keeps the theme of love and domesticity.
Medulla seems to be inspired by Björk’s pregnancy while writing the album, as the lyrics delve into an idea of motherhood. “Vökuró” explored the fear that a mother may make mistakes, while keeping a lullaby-like rhythm and tone. Medulla is very raw and emotional, with every song being almost entirely a capella. This album is also one of my favorites because of the sheer emotion it portrays. This is an album where you need to listen to it from front to back the first time. You can’t pick and choose songs, as your love will grow for them throughout the whole album.
Vespertine:
“Pagan Poetry” had a recent uptick in listening numbers, used as background music for “the horse of absolute agreement” trend on TikTok. Even before this trend, this was my favorite song on Vespertine. Björk’s voice is very loud and empowering while still letting the backing tracks shine.
“Frosti” is completely composed with a custom-made music box Björk commissioned from Porter Music Box Company. I think it’s very beautiful and creates a great contrast and transition into the next song, Aurora.
“Aurora” uses the same music box sound, but in a more glitchy, warped manner. It’s very haunting and ethereal, even more so when listening to the album front to back.
Medulla:
“Pleasure is all Mine” is a very strong opener to this album, giving an introduction to the vocals and acapella-ness of this album. It’s a very beautiful song, capturing the raw emotion and variety of the human voice.
“Who is it (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)” is a very beautiful and upbeat song, compared to the haunting vibes of some of the other songs on the album. She uses bells for the background and even has a dress covered in bells in the music video. This song has my favorite music video of hers; when I watch it, I feel like I’m watching someone from another world.
“Where is the Line” is a very strange song. It sounds very mechanical, but is actually made with many voices overlaid on top of each other to create a unique sound. My mom said it sounds like music from My Singing Monsters.
Although her music may seem very strange at a first listen, her songs are each very beautiful and emotional. She blends an alternative, avant-garde, and experimental genre with electronic and art-pop to create her own style rivaled by none other. I think she is one of the best artists of our time, and many other artists think the same, as many have credited Björk as being their inspiration, such as Missy Elliot, SZA, FKA Twigs, and Lady Gaga. Her solo career is very much inspired by her time as the lead singer of The Sugarcubes, and if you like her music you should totally give them a listen.
