Well, Bjork is at it again. It’s been nigh on 30 years of output from the Icelandic singer, and frankly it may be time for her to hang up her swan dress (dated cultural references are the new black, guys). Her ninth full-length effort, Vulnicura is packaged as break-up album, having parted ways with her partner and baby daddy after more than a decade; but is sounds just like any other Bjork record really, maybe a B-sides collection. Basically she documents the time before the break-up, through the guts of it, then her getting over it. Hopefully their daughter enjoys hearing this in future years, how lovely to be able to hear your parents eternally break up! Musically it is very orchestral; which varies from annoying to forgettable, whilst lyrically it tells an emotional and touching story, but the vocal arrangements feel as if they have been made for different songs.
It’s very clearly Bjork (talk)singing, she hasn’t ventured into any new territory there, but none of the tracks feel like cohesive songs. It seems Bjork is now far more interested in making art than music, which is fine and great and it seems she should. The cover artwork of the physical release (there were two variants) is great: a plastic sleeve with a backwards-bent Bjork with a huge exposed chest gash (symbolic to the hilt) gives way to a futuristic, alien-y Hellraiser-esque Bjork. It is both beautiful and telling, and shows Bjork is clearly a talented woman, but it seems she is no longer the cutting-edge musical artist she once was. If you are a die-hard Bjork-ist then this will do you just fine, if you are easily irritated by pretension then save yourself the hassle.
