Bjork - Volta
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Free Music Notes for Volta
Free Music Review: subtle and beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
maybe not subtle, but it grows on you. bjork is established in my mind as a unique musical artist, gifted, and anything she makes is interesting at least, and worth checking out. volta is again unlike any other bjork album, but alike them all at the same time. musically, it has elements of post, debut, homogenic, and even drawing restraint 9. it also has new sounds to offer, toumani diabate, clavichord, the whole brass section, and how she now enjoys to colaberate with other artists, like antony, of antony and the johnsons, who sings beautifully with bjork, and timbaland producing killer beats on numerous tracks. i also love how many tracks segue to the next, with oceanic sounds, water, ships, even a downtown motorbike. looking at other reviews she seems to be sufurrering from 'that's not good enough' syndrome. err, her fans that is. just because it's not verspertine or post or homogenic. it's volta. and besides, she's not making music to sell, she's recording and creating what's inside her mind and i am always treated to hear what it is. it may not be as brilliant, lush, and full as homogenic or vespertine, but even when she's not genius, bjork is amazing, and volta is just as rememerable if you listen to it more than once! i'd really give it 4 and a half stars.
i see who you are, vertebrae by vertebrea (that had those horns goin on from drawing restraint 9), hope, and my juvenille really stand out to me. i think they may be most verspertine like, which apparently people don't like for some reason, at least on amazonnot much going on here dfrom medulla, a bizzare and wonderufl album.... i read she wrote phnemonia after having ... well, phneumonia and watching pan's labbyrinth. only increasing my enjoyment of bjork and that song :-)
Earth Intruders * * * *
Wanderlust * * * * *
The Dull Flame of Desire * * * * *
Innocence * * * *
I See Who You Are * * * * *
Vertebrae by Vertebrae * * * * *
Pheunomnia * * * * *
Hope * * * * *
Declare Independence * * * * 1/2
My Juvenile * * * * *
oh yeah! one more thingwhoever thought of the sticker is insane. after my first night with the cd the sticker has hair on it, making it unable to close. i supose it was my fault anyways... bah. a sticker? for shame.
Free Music Review: A musical eruption!!
Hit: 5 Stars
With a marching beat, spacey effects, and insistent lyrics about Earth intruders, muddy with twigs and branches, "Earth intruders" opens Björk's widely touted return to beats and melody on "Volta".
Still as off kilter and obtuse as ever, "Volta" finds Björk with some of her most personal lyrics to date.
"My juvenile" is a piano ballad (sprinkled with clavichord) about her son Sindri and is song alternately by Björk and Antony Hegarty; Björk chiding herself for how she handled him growing up, and Antony reassuringly singing "The intentions were pure" as if an alter ego.
The ballad "I see who you are" is a plinking lullaby-like ode to her daughter, with sprinklings of Pipa (a Chinese lute).
Antony appears again on the brooding, cinematic/operatic "The dull flame of desire", with a gently building electronic beat that comes more pronounced as the song progresses. A stunning seven minutes!!
"Wanderlust" is a swirling, horn-sprinkled song with gently skittery beats, and echoing harmonies.
"Hope" ponders the tale of a pregnant suicide bomber, and features a harplike instrument called the Kora (from Mali). Produced by Timbaland (as are "Earth intruders" and "Innocence", the latter an upbeat song driven by punch-like beats), it has a world music feel. To those who feared a Timbaland/ Björk collaboration, you can rest easy. The songs are as Björk-like as ever, with nothing Nelly Furtado or Justin Timberlake would touch with a ten foot pole.
The semi spoken "Declare independence" appears driven by static, and other distorted sounds, set to a thumping beat, with her voice rising in intensity. "Pneumonia" (vocals and french horns alone, with lyrics about a bout of Pneumonia Björk had) and "Vertebrae by vertebrae" are both atmospheric ballads, showcasing Björk's acrobatic vocals to the max.
Sounding like nothing else out there, "Volta" is like an eruption of brilliant ideas. Here's hoping this is her most successful release to date.
Free Music Review: Bjork is bringing HORNy back!
Hit: 5 Stars
It amuses me how one album can be considered both an artist's return to form and another chapter of her "unstoppable descent" into Eurotrash experiment (blimey Mr. K. Davis, that was so unfair!). So, is Bjork's Volta her most commercial and accessible collection of songs since Post or just another experimental effort in musical oddness, along with the most recent Medulla and DR9 soundtrack? Die-hard fans, critics and general audience will always have mixed opinions about Bjork simply because her music and visuals go way beyond the boundaries of Pop and Avant-garde, and this seems to be the only point where listeners and reviewers are in unison.
Have you been sweating over the past decade trying to understand her music, her sense of style, her wardrobe? Tsk, tsk! She even warned you on her debut single back in 1993, "be ready to get confused, there's definitely no logic to human behaviour". But yet, her music is "so irresistible". And Volta is definitely, definitely, definitely no exception.
Mainstream producer Timbaland is aboard on this record, so were you expecting to find Bjork sounding like Britney or Justin? Oooops! Or would you prefer to see Bjork back in Homogenic/Vespertine mode with strings and orchestra? Oooops... again!
Instead, Bjork is bringing the "horns" back and believe me, you won't miss the luscious strings (certainly not as much as you did in Medulla). The mood created by the brass section is utterly beautiful and suits very well songs like Wanderlust and Pneumonia. Live on stage, the Wonderbrass girls will rock you with their "flag and a trumpet" on Declare Independence (If you don't have a chance to see the tour, watch out for the Volta Live Session album that apparently has already been recorded and will be released eventually). Finally, the bold brass has proved to be another great match to Bjork's unique voice.
"The beast is back..." and we humans should be all very glad.
Free Music Review: Just As Enchanting As Ever
Hit: 5 Stars
Always full of surprises, Bjork has yet again enchanted listeners with this her sixth studio album. Unoubtedly an album that has divided critics and fans alike, it's not hard to see why, it's something fresh and by far her most accessible album to date. After two albums of introspective emotion she has finally let it all go and has delivered a stunning set of brilliant songs.
Combining some of Bjork's trademark stylings from her back catalogue, it sounds like you've heard it all before, yet still surprised me and sounded amazingly fresh. Not one to conform to commercial music trends, many may see "Volta" as a departure from her stance, but it's a rarity, an album that defines an artist's mainstream appeal without 'selling out' so to speak. The Timbaland tracks are easy to identify, and she duets on two tracks with Mercury Prize winner Antony Hegarty.
Strangely, with all this collaboration it doesn't intrude on the centrepiece: Bjork herself. Exerimentation is at the forefront of this album, mixing the Timbaland hip-hop stylings with the intimate glory of songs like "Vertebrae by Vertebrae". This eclipses anything Bjork has done in the past: more headstrong than the naive "Debut", more experimental than "Post", less overbearing than "Homogenic", more carefree than the intricate "Vespertine" and more listenable than it's predecessor "Medulla". Out of all her back catalogue this seems to be the underdog, the deal breaker.
In all the confusion of it's reception I have found Bjork at her most honest and integral. In a year plagued with a lot of my favourite artists releasing albums: The Arcade Fire and Tori Amos, "Volta" stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Whether it be the fact that it was the first Bjork album that completely captivated me after one listen, it just proves Bjork's immense talent for creating music that continues to mesmerise me.
Free Music Review: Bjork's Strongest Album To Date
Hit: 5 Stars
If one is going to buy or listen to this album expecting another Debut, Post, or something in between, you're going to be disappointed by Volta. It's not the album we were expecting- a fun, "full-bodied" album that's really up, as quoted by Bjork herself. In fact, Volta is more than that. In Volta, it's indeed Bjork's humble return to her iconic beats and singing- there are no more whispers, Bjork is finally letting her voice shine. In Volta, Bjork is doing pop her own way. Timbaland's tracks are obviously the most catchy of all her songs on this album, but when you take away the hype surrounding them, you'll realize that Volta has songs that take the time to listen to, but with repeated listens, you'll learn to appreciate and love the more adventerous side of Bjork. Volta is almost like a mesh of everything she's ever done. Wanderlust and Dull Flame of Desire remind us of Post, but more full-blooded with the wonderful brass arrangement that sails through each song along with the sound of ships. "Vertebrae" and "Pneumonia" are samples from DR9 with the somber brass, the punky "Declare Independence" is apparently the "Pluto" of Volta. The most touching of all is how Volta is by far her most personal album, she's no longer try to isolate herself from the world, but is facing it in full force with "Innocence." In "Hope," she expresses political thoughts for the first time. And most of all, in "I See Who You Are" (who is about her daughter) and "My Juvenile" (which is about her older son) we see Bjork as an immensely sincere and humble mother.
Maybe not everyone will understand Volta, but it is arguably her most accessible record since Vespertine and her most personal and strongest album to date. I also had the pleasure in seeing her in concert this year, hearing some of the songs from Volta live makes me appreciate this innovative and inspiring artist even more!