Album of the Year 2015 #2: Björk - Vulnicura

Order in the court (of internet peers). Today's installment of our month-long Album of the Year 2015 series comes from our favorite Iceland fetishizing teenager u/staralfurs. She'll be writing about Björk's most recent album, Vulnicura. I've never posted one of these thing before so hopefully the formatting isn't too fucked up. But without further ado let's get into the writeup.

Artist: Björk

Album: Vulnicura

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Background by u/staralfurs

Björk Guðmundsdóttir has been making and releasing music since age 11. When her self-titled debut was released as per the recommendation of some music teachers, she was playing the piano and covering Stevie Wonder songs in Icelandic. By the 80s, she was a leader of punk groups and pop acts alike. Her first major project was The Sugarcubes, recording hits that managed to obtain a cult-like international following from 1986 to 1992. Once she forced the last Sugarcubes record out, she wanted to go solo, and she did this in a massive way. Her first two albums, Debut and Post, were innovative pop records that spawned even more success for Björk. After several harrowing episodes with a stalker fan (who eventually killed himself in 1996), she was forced to mature rapidly, a growth that is reflected in her discography. Her acclaimed electronic and trip-hop influenced Homogenic was released the next year, followed by multiple soundtracks and film appearances, the minimal Vespertine in 2001, the entirely acapella Medúla in 2004, freaky Afrobeat-inspired Volta in 2007, and National Geographic-sponsored Biophilia in 2011.

Now, in 2015, Björk has to mature in an entirely different context. While she previously had relationships with former Sugarcubes member Þór Eldon and electronic artist Goldie, her longest-lasting was with artist Matthew Barney. The relationship lasted for 13 years, until 2013 when they decided to break it off. Now, after years of a sort of Björk dry spell, she has released Vulnicura to the public. Originally set for a March physical release date, it was made available digitally in January when it leaked very soon after the announcement. The album, weaved together with production by Arca and The Haxan Cloak, is a harrowing chronological account of Björk and Barney’s split, and how she got over it.

Review by u/staralfurs

Breaking up is hard to do. Anybody knows it. Even Björk, who has been in multiple relationships in the past. But this is different. Her partner, her daughter’s father, was just not giving enough anymore. Over a decade was long enough. And if you’re Björk, you use that pain as motivation.

For this documentation, she did form a new relationship, and that was one between experimental producers Arca and The Haxan Cloak. Between these two were some of the most innovative electronic masterpieces of the decade so far, with connections to acts such as Kanye West, FKA twigs, and HEALTH, and their own solo projects. Now they’ve landed in Björk’s own world, one that was once filled with swan-themed attire, dancing cat boyfriends who wear suits, multi-colored pufferfish-esque wigs, and a fair bit of artistic nudity. This, of course, is right up their alley. All three of these artists are very similar in that they have their own completely unique and almost unsettling trademarks. Their three planets colliding seem nothing more than natural, not just an explosion.

The first six tracks of this album are labelled: nine months before, five months before, three months before, two months after, six months after, eleven months after. These songs catalog the year of pain leading up to and following her breakup. The beginning half, with “Stonemilker,” “Lionsong,” and “History of Touches,” are maybe some of the most pop-sensible tracks on this whole record, and rely heavily on a large string section that continues to make appearances throughout the record. They deal with the lack of feeling, the lack of intimacy, and the dramatic conclusion to this chapter of her life. Then, it all boils over, and needless to say, Björk is really pissed. “Black Lake,” “Family,” and “Notget” are emotional titans. At over 10 minutes, “Black Lake” is a sprawling documentation of the initial feelings proceeding the split with sporadic bursts of lyrical play, sounding almost like this songstress is having a real argument, and bringing up her points as she stops to catch her breath. As she progresses, these initial thoughts and doubts grow into pure anger and frustration, and the shattering climax begins.

The last three tracks, “Atom Dance,” “Mouth Mantra,” and “Quicksand,” are the only three that are not directly connected to the main issue of this album. Still, they manage to illustrate her thoughts just as well as any of the cuts before them. “Atom Dance” is a sweet duet with Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons about learning to open up to love and let past wounds heal. “Mouth Mantra,” originally written after Björk had vocal surgery and could not speak for nearly a month, uses the metaphors originally written to illustrate this struggle to explain an entirely different conflict. Being in a tumultuous relationship is like having your mouth sewn shut, and with time, you can find the strength to sing again. Finally, the skittering “Quicksand” closes this album with yet another set of word play that was written separately from the rest of the album. It still manages to sum up every major point of the record: she is broken, she is looking for something different for her and her daughter, and she wants to let go of her sorrows. Then, it abruptly ends, just like her former love.

Björk has just recently turned 50. Can a musician who has been working for nearly 35 years have a coming-of-age story at this point in their lives? How can something so drastic affect their music? Homogenic and the context surrounding the record’s release helped a Björk in her early 30s to become more mature, and Vulnicura almost does the same for this woman who should be slowing down, but shows absolutely no signs of doing so. Her sound is sharper and tighter than ever, her attitude is even stronger, and she is truly back at her peak for the first time in years. “Vulnicura” means “cure for wounds,” and anything that has ever scratched her soul is healed with this album’s release.

Matthew Barney and his high-profile relationship with her will definitely be remembered – as the driving force that made one of the most memorable albums in recent memory, and the thing that helped Björk win this battle with her past and with herself.

Favorite Lyrics by u/staralfurs

Is there a place

Where I can pay respects

For the death of my family?

• Family

When we're broken we are whole

And when we're whole we're broken

• Quicksand

These abstract complex feelings

I just don't know how to handle them

Should I throw oil on one of his moods

But which one?

The joy peak

Humor peak

Frustration peak

Anything peak

For clarity

• Lionsong

Every single fuck

We had together

Is in a wondrous time lapse

With us here at this moment

The history of touches

Every single archive

Compressed into a second

All with us here as I wake you up

• History of Touches

At last the view is fierce

All that matters is

Who is open chested

And who has coagulated

Who can share and

Who has shot down the chances?

• Stonemilker

Talking Points

• What is your favorite song/lyric?

• Production wise, what was your favorite moment on this record?

• Do the themes/lyrics here have a deep personal connection to you?

• Do you think that Björk made the right decision in releasing this album early upon its sudden leak?

• How do you think Barney feels about the release of this album?

• What kind of impact do you feel that female indie/alternative artists and feminism had on music this year?

• What do you think could be in store for Björk after this album’s phase is over?

Thanks for the write-up u/staralfurs. Tomorrow u/dankdadburrito will be writing about Beat the Champ or The Most Lamentable Tragedy. I'm not sure which because he's a flip-flopping motherfucker but I'll be back next Wednesday writing about one of MY favorite albums of 2015, Sleater-Kinney's No Cities To Love!