Post

by

Björk

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Artists who are worth their salt must grow. By that measure, Bjork is worth a lot of salt. She has yet to dissapoint me in that she refuses to stand still artistically. Yes, there is a definitive Bjork-ish-ness about her music, but I don't think she makes the mistake of making the same album over and over.

Her 1995 CD, Post, is a nice followup to 1993's Debut. In this album, some of the seeds she planted in Debut begin to mature, as she drifts farther from the mainstream and her Sugarcubes roots.

"Army of Me" I tired of rather quickly, but that's OK. It was the hit single after all, and typical of hits, it couldn't hold my attention long. Can't hold her responsible for that. "Possibly Maybe" on the other hand, which you've probably seen on MTV, I never tire of. There's a lot going on in that song, and the notes Bjork chooses are positively jazz inspired.

But I think the thing that hooked me on Post (which was my introduction to Bjork, by the way, in 1997) was the pure emotion that comes across in her music, and in her voice. "Hyperballad" is the one that really gets to me. The lyrics outline the story of a woman who walks to the edge of a cliff every morning, throws junk off, and contemplates suicide as she watches the items fall and strike the rocks below. The reason she indicates for this bizarre behaviour is that after that rather dismal start to her day, there's nowhere to go but up. Dark? Certainly. Sappy? Perhaps. But for whatever reason, I was emotionally affected by that song. But no matter the subject of the lyrics, it is Bjork's delivery that really sells the emotion, and what ultimately affects me. It's just nice that Hyperballad had something more to it lyrically.

There's plenty of good music on this one. There's the ethereal opening to "Isobel", which is orchestral and haunting in its beauty. I could listen to that minute and a half alone over and over (and I have). There's a Japanese quality to "Cover Me". This one was evidently recorded in a cave, apparently a result of an incident during recording the album when Bjork just decided to run out into the night in the middle of a recording session, sound men scrambling to drag some recording equipment out the door after her...you can even hear the bats in the background. Strange song, almost shades of Yoko Ono, but I love it. Nice, experimental stuff.

Granted, Bjork's music is not for the closed minded or musically timid. And I know I'm not the typical consumer sample -- I'm an artist at a game company -- but I find all her albums very inspiring. I usually have one of them on while I work, and I find I'm more relaxed and creative for it.

Bottom line, for creative people, or even just people who enjoy adventurous music that's a little out of the ordinary, Post won't disappoint.

say goodbye to the deliciously demented Sugarcubes, and say hello to Bjork solo pop star! in her old bands it was obvious that there was a mighty strong force brewing in her mind and with her vocals. sometimes her ideas seemed suffocated by her fellow band member's contributions; so thank god that someone had the sense to let her go solo and really explore the outer and inner dephths of her talent. now that she has enjoyed a healthy and high profile solo career for quite some time; it's amazing to take a look back at her past catalogue and examine her progression over the years.

and here's the second album...the sophmore slump(?). no, not exactly...but this album took alot longer to grow on me. it seems like there is some kind of transition going on here within these songs, and there are some great great songs on this cd, but as a whole, it can get kind of lost. the album starts off with the very dark and very un-tuneful "Army of Me." i'm still surprised that this song has become so popular; not because it's not a great song, because it is...but it's just so "out there" for a pop song. it sounds more like a military marching pop song (hence the title) than something you'd want to listen to in your car with the windows down. then on to the achingly beautiful "Hyper-ballad" and "The Modern Things" which both soar up and down with the orchestrated chorus and gentle electronic treatment. the song everyone knows from this album is "It's Oh So Quiet" with it's jazzy sound and cutesy lyrics about falling in love. it's a good song but it sticks out like a sore thumb on this album. it sounds like a leftover from Bjork's "Gling-Glo" album. don't get me wrong, it's a good song...but very out of place on "Post." the remainder of the album sort of settles in a snoozy and dreamy song mix with "Isobel" and "I Miss You" being nice standouts. there's a nice homey snuggly feel to alot of the second half of this album that seems to be more organicly coherent than the first half.

"Post" did grow on me the more i listed to it...but of all her solo cd's, this one remains as a somewhat difficult album to fully wrap my arms around. i adore Bjork's artistic vision and i have a hard time trying to tell people who don't own any of her solo albums which one is best to start with, but in my opinion, "Post" is probably not the best place for a new Bjork fan to begin exploring.

now...bring on the ungoldy amount of remixes!