2013 Grammys:
- Nomination: Best Alternative Music Album
- WIN: Best Recording Package
I don't know much about Bjork, other than remembering vaguely the thing about the swan dress. That was her, right? I honestly thought she and Yoko Ono were the same person for a pretty long time. In case it's not completely obvious already, this will be the first time I've ever listened to an album of hers.
"Moon" starts things off in what I have to admit is an interesting way. Lots of strings with what I can only pin as Asian influence come through in a gentle way. Oh, but then Bjork starts singing. And while I've never listened to much of her music, I now remember the bits I have heard and why I don't frequent her Spotify artist page. Her vocals are recorded much higher than the sweet, soft strings, by the way. | |
| "Chystalline" takes that creepy kid's xylophone playing sound to a new level by making it the primary instrument in a song. Seriously never thought I'd hear that. I mean, there are other sounds throughout, but that one is probably going to haunt me in the realm of music for quite some time now. And then the intense drumming comes into play alongside a DJ out for over-powerment. Sorry, gotta make these tracks more interesting for myself. |
Ahhhhhhhhhh…. Ohhhhhh…. that's the opening to "Cosmogony," and not in an excited screaming kind of way. This one slows it down and makes things a little more spacey. Ha, yay for relevant titles. My god, this is getting trippy. Just hearing "the god inside burst out…" I mean, I'm sure there's perfectly good reasoning for the lyrics throughout, and I'm probably missing something. But all I'm seeing in my head is a Gaga-esq burst a la "Born This Way." | |
| Yah know, I was beginning to enjoy the late-entering violins in "Hollow" until they took a turn for the minor, scarier chords. How do people come up with this for the means of putting together what I would assume was meant to be a typical, normal album? I didn't do much research here, so maybe fear is the theme I'm missing out on. At least it's daylight. |
I can't place my finger on the name for the hollow pipes that I believe are playing for most of "Sacrifice," but I got sad around the halfway mark when they got crowed out with electric drumming. It was nice to hear something odd and cool for a moment, but that little section (that I'm sure was meant to spark interest in the song itself) just kind of hurt the whole atmosphere for me and left me just waiting for the song to end.
"Mutual Core" takes on a more intense way about it, employing some really loud and borderline obnoxious electronic noises throughout. But something about that intensity makes it all the more better. I mean… well, I don't know what I mean. Maybe I'm just looking for something to like here for a change, or maybe it's legitimately growing on me. | |
"Hollow - original extended version" is even creepier than the rest of the album combined. My eyebrows are getting goosebumps just listening to it. What happened to the cool hollow pipes? Why is the echo being employed so heavily? Why do I know I'm going to jump out of my seat when a roommate comes home?
Adding a choir and organ to "Dark Matter" isn't helping anything here. In fact, it's just making me more scared. Seriously, music is not supposed to be like this. Someone help, please, I just heard keys in the door and want out of this insanity asap.
"Nattura" is the final song on the album. Almost sounds like marching ghosts to me at this point, with the waspy vocals in the back and the drums seemingly marching forward on the main section. I want to write more here people, I really do, but I'm at my wits end and feel like this is more than enough.
Added to My Playlist:
- "Mutual Core"
Oh man, that was completely something else. I mean, if you had never heard Bjork before, you probably would come in with some expectations, but never enough to be scared while listening. I'm all for a good chill here and there, but that was intense and disturbing at times, just musically, enough to make me ready to listen to my old boy band CDs.