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Björk - Volta [New Album - 05-07-07]

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I was kind of worried about the duet with Antony in Dull Flame of Desire, but it's pretty epic with the drums in the background. Nice surprise.
 
I'm waiting. You jerks and your thievery.
 
Nick said:
This is so good. God, The Dull Flame of Desire is magical.
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Seriously. The album is so frightening and different - Homogenic/Vespertine with greater maturity and even more interesting ideas. Dull Flame of Desire, like you said, is just.....f*ck.
 
I managed to wait until the album for Year Zero, I'll wait it out for Volta.
 
Midas said:
How are the songs with Antony?
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his voice is incredible. this album is NOT what i expected at all - i think the timbaland stuff threw me in the wrong direction. however, i'm loving what i'm hearing so far.

tnw, check your PM's please, i haven't got a reply yet from earlier!
 
julls said:
his voice is incredible. this album is NOT what i expected at all - i think the timbaland stuff threw me in the wrong direction. however, i'm loving what i'm hearing so far.

tnw, check your PM's please, i haven't got a reply yet from earlier!
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I know that already. :)

Damnit, I really need to study I don't have time to listen to this. Tomorrow it is!
 
Midas said:
I know that already. :)
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hahaha, along with jak stat just listing the song titles and me describing his voice and not the songs, you didn't get very far :lol sorry.

'dull flame of desire' makes me think of 'motion picture soundtrack' by radiohead, in that it has horns. that's the only description i can give you :P it's one of the highlights for me, though.
 
I was expecting more of a tribal, quick album full of "Earth Intruders" songs, but it's really laid back. I gotta relax into it a bit more before I can comment, but "Declare Independence" is so ****ing ballin.
 
I like the Antony tracks a lot more than I thought I would. The album, overall, is pretty decent. It still cannot compare to Vespertine or Homogenic in greatness -- perhaps not even Post. But it's definitely fun stuff. What the hell was she thinking with "Declare Independence?" Ugh.
 
Man, I hope Bjork plays a good smattering of songs from other (Homogenic please) albums as well as the new album (I haven't heard it yet) at Coachella. Driving out to Indio tonight for Friday's show (Saturday and Sunday were sold out before I could get tickets). I want to see the Peppers, though... :sniff
 
I really love the remix of Earth Intruders on iTunes right now.

Bjork is great. I had no idea.
 
I listened to some sample stuff on iTunes of Bjork and I for some reason don't see the appeal sadly. Does it take awhile to acquire a liking for her?
 
Y2Kevbug11 said:
I'm listening to Post now. It's Oh So Quiet is OMG.
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Bjork has a lot of good stuff. I think she's developed a only slightly desrved reputation for being weird.

Is there any vespertine-ish stuff on the album? I really like that the most of all of her stuff, although certainly appreciate the others.

I listened to some sample stuff on iTunes of Bjork and I for some reason don't see the appeal sadly. Does it take awhile to acquire a liking for her?
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Bjork isn't instantly appealing. Vespertine especially. you need to listen to it a few times. Maybe as background initially. I find you really need to actively listen to it.

Bjork is nice :)
 
Karma Kramer said:
I listened to some sample stuff on iTunes of Bjork and I for some reason don't see the appeal sadly. Does it take awhile to acquire a liking for her?
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This album takes a little while longer to sink in, but yea, quite a bit of her work is outside the norm and all the better for it.
 
tnw said:
Bjork isn't instantly appealing. Vespertine especially. you need to listen to it a few times. Maybe as background initially. I find you really need to actively listen to it.

Bjork is nice :)
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Well I find her melodies and electronica stuff to be nice... but her singing just doesn't appeal to me.

I will admit she has ****ing awesome album art though. If I were to get into Bjork what album should I start with?
 
Y2Kevbug11 said:
Well, she wore a ****ing swan to the Oscars.
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Yes, well that's hardly the image bjork had before that. Her vespertine era image is pretty late in her career. Think PS2 compared to NES. She had a pixie-ish image up until then even with when she was in the sugarcubes. I always think of her like this, in her faux man ray-ishness and fuzzy sweater

Bjork2.gif


Post is a great album all the way through. Enjoy is a great song, so is hyperballad. The exploratory quality of her non-album selling songs is really nice. Army of me is kind of meh.

Highlited for Karmakramer

I think her singing is great. It's really influenced by Iceland culture.
 
tnw said:
Is there any vespertine-ish stuff on the album? I really like that the most of all of her stuff, although certainly appreciate the others.
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Well, I guess kinda sorta. "I See Who You Are" might work on Vespertine. Perhaps "Pneumonia" and "My Juvenile" a little bit as well.

Now that I've listened to the entire album, though, it reminds me of Selmasongs mixed with the Drawing Restraint soundtrack. "Innocence" and "Earth Intruders" could work on Homogenic/Post. They kinda of remind me of some of the fun bsides she had in the Post-era (like "Nature is Ancient" and "I Go Humble" or such).
 
I dont wanna get the full leak. I know Ill love Volta

Ive only listened to Earth Intruders and Innocence. I especially love the latter, they kinda remind me of "Who is it" from Medulla but with hot beats!
 
tnw said:
Yes, well that's hardly the image bjork had before that. Her vespertine era image is pretty late in her career. Think PS2 compared to NES. She had a pixie-ish image up until then even with when she was in the sugarcubes.

Post is a great album all the way through. Enjoy is a great song, so is hyperballad. The exploratory quality of her non-album selling songs is really nice. Army of me is kind of meh.

Highlited for Karmakramer

I think her singing is great. It's really influenced by Iceland culture.
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Alright thanks for the info. I am listening to Hyper-balled on last.fm right now. It is kinda growing on my all of the sudden lmfao :lol

I love when the song starts to build up.
 
Karma Kramer said:
Alright thanks for the info. I am listening to Hyper-balled on last.fm right now. It is kinda growing on my all of the sudden lmfao :lol

I love when the song starts to build up.
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but I just love the imagery in that song. her standing on a breezy bluff in the morning throwing things off to live with someone. I don't know. I just like it *sniff*
 
tnw said:
but I just love the imagery in that song. her standing on a breezy bluff in the morning throwing things off to live with someone. I don't know. I just like it *sniff*
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Yeah good imagery... sound of her body against rocks... car parts, bottles throwing off the edge... ect.
 
A review for those who're holding off until the official release:

Iamthegamer said:
Excerpts from a Pitchfork interview on May 23, 2007:

Björk: "Well the lyric thing, part of it was having a little daughter and realizing what are we telling girls? And all these books out there about finding your prince, and this whole prince's face, I don't know if you know any girls under eight who just wear all pink--

And all they want to do is be pretty and find their prince, and I'm like, what happened to feminism?"


Björk is bringing back women. Not that they necessarily went away or anything, but more specifically she's bringing back the real sense of what a woman once was: Completely Independent. Her new album, Volta, expresses her ideas on life as a woman and, generally, a human being. Not only does she capture this idea with her lyrics, but also with her music, creating a very delicate, yet vibrant set of tracks, culminating in one of the finest and most cohesive records of her career.

Björk, never one to lay back, kick her feet up, and bask in her strengths, pushes things forward once more with Volta, in a more delicate, yet rhythmic direction. Producer Timbaland works over three of Volta's tracks, the best of which being "Earth Intruders". Inspired by her trip to hurricane-stricken Indonesia and a dream she had on the plane trip home, It's a surreally tribal trip, fusing her gorgeous wail with a hip hop beat from the Twilight Zone, it's almost a club ready track, a first for her career (to my knowledge). It would be great if she revisited this style for every track on the record, but it would also be predictable.

Since we're talking Björk, we're most definitely not talking about predictability. She follows "Earth Intruders"' thunderous clamoring with two consecutive tracks built on momentum, yet mostly sustained by her voice. Timbaland returns for "Innocence" and it's the most "Timbaland-sounding" of his three contributions and also probably the most commercial track on the record because of it. "I See Who You Are" is a very child-like track that's very apparently dedicated to her daughter, Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney. It's crafted with love, a very emotional track from her heart that shows how she's growing older with grace.

The next three songs feature brass and string sections prominently, and both are very artistic and beautiful. Unfortunately though, they could really float by without you noticing in the least bit. They're great to relax to, but if you've got your mind on other things, these three tracks won't take your mind off of them. These are ultimately the low points of the album, despite how much effort seems to be put into them. Luckily though, they make the record feel just that much more brief.

"Declare Independence" is the most feministic track on the record, a wild glitch-hop call-to-arms that spirals out of control before you even realize it, very much akin to the revolution she tries to imagine with her lyrics. It's a truly a love-or-hate it track, and I fit firmly in the "love" camp, especially since it wakes up you up after the snooze fest created by the last three tracks.

The album closes out with another soothing duet between her and Antony (and the Johnsons) Hegarty. Their unorthodox vocals are perfect match, like two dancers on the floor who know each other's body movements to a T. Another song for her daughter, just as beautiful as the last (But man, doesn't it suck to be her son? Where are his songs?!).


Björk: "So maybe it's addressing that old saga a little bit. But I also wanted to have some sort of shaman, voodoo thing, to just liberate, to get rid of a lot of tension. But in a happy, celebratory way, not as a destructive thing. It's sort of maybe trying to put out some good vibes for the little princesses out there. There are actually other things than pink jars and losing a glass slipper."


I don't need to tell you Björk is a legend in the music world. I don't need to tell you to bow down before her or adore her in all of her bizarro glory. You know all of this. What you don't know (unless you've heard the record, but you're not supposed to've yet, you damn dirty pirate!) is that Björk is growing old with this record. Not in a decrepit, "I've lost my touch and forgotten where I put my reading glasses" kind of way, but more of world weary way. She's experienced many things in her life: Family, stalkers, swan dresses and the like. She's taking what's she's learned and using what she's earned to give back, to teach the female youth of the world how to go about growing up: With intelligence, beauty, and, most importantly, independence. When so many recent artists are wallowing in life's more depressing waters, it's a breath of fresh air to see Björk splashing around in the fountain of youth, reminding us that we can all still grow as one and together at the same time.

Welcome back, Björk. It's good to see you again.

4/5 Stars
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army of me

enjoy

i miss you

hunter

pluto (especially pluto)

depending on the venue, those are all playable in a club.
 
tnw said:
army of me

enjoy

i miss you

hunter

pluto (especially pluto)

depending on the venue, those are all playable in a club.
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Eh, you're probably right. I haven't had too intimate of a knowledge of her catalogue, "Earth Intruders" just seemed like the only thing I could think of that could be played in a club alongside any other Timbaland track an not feel compeltely out of place.
 
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