Bjork MEDULLA. One Little Indian

POST, has remained my favourite Bjork album, until now. MEDULLA is an inventive, diverse and atmospheric tour de force by an artist who I feel has struggled to match that glorious opening salvo.

With opener Pleasure Is All Mine (reminiscent of songs from Beth Gibbons’ wonderful debut solo album), one is given a strong hint of what’s to come. Swirling electronic beats, the most beautiful choral harmonies, Bjork in fine vocal fettle, and subtle melody dominate. The second track, Show The Forgiveness, is an extraordinary, highly original Gothic affair with amazing electronic sounds, and could so easily accompany one of those dark satanic movies. Wonderful!

Then calm contemplation reigns with the haunting Where Is The Line? and another superb vocal backing from the Icelandic Choir. With most of Bjork’s work, it’s difficult to try and describe her music and this album is probably the most difficult. Vokuro is a supreme example of a song which is compelling and perplexing at the same time. Oll Birtan, whilst inventive as hell, is more recognisable as a pop song with a distinctly African vibe, and is quite extraordinary. Darkness and light arrive with Submarine, a strong highlight of the album with its basso profundo backing vocals combined with lighter Beach Boys style harmonies. My favourite song is Oceania with its superb melody and choral vocals influenced heavily by passages from the opera Madame Butterfly.

MEDULLA is one of the year’s major album releases and places Bjork firmly at the top of the inventive, beat-driven, pop music tree. And it’s arguably her best album to-date. Essential.

5/5