Article summary

Björk's main asset as a musician is her fearlessness. Since the end of the Sugarcubes and the pop-dance of Debut, she has released progressively more experimental records. But after well over a decade of going further and further out, Volta steps back. Make no mistake; this is Björk, and so it's still fabulously weird. Like 2004's mesmerizing Medúlla and the 2005 soundtrack for Drawing Restraint 9, the songs are blissfully peculiar, with narratives about love, offspring, aliens...you name it. Yet melodically and philosophically, Volta recycles more than it innovates; the driving pulse of "Declare Independence," for instance, reminds us of Homogenic's "Pluto," and the lead single "Earth Intruders" sounds like Post's "Army of Me" on steroids. And just as Medúlla oriented itself around a certain instrument--the human voice--this one concentrates on horns.

Still, the transition between her early work and the avant-garde bender she's been on since Vespertine is pretty harrowing, and it's satisfying to hear Björk revisit her more accessible self. Uber-producer Timbaland pitches in here and there, most successfully on "Innocence," which uses a fat, disjointed pulse to drive the euphoric vocals forward. Elsewhere, the hyperactive sitar sample on "I See Who You Are" provides texture for the song's theme of enjoying each other while there's still "flesh on our bones." And "Pneumonia" makes fantastic use of the horn section with a soft arrangement that compliments the song's lyrical melody.

So while it's a bit of a stall, Volta is a lovely pause. It reminds us how much we appreciate the laboratory of Björk's imagination, but also how much we missed her back when she was just goofing around. --Matthew Cooke

Customer's review

fantastic

Needed -- repeat listens and *gasp* engagement on behalf of the audience. Bjork continues to be an artist who places demands on the listener, makes them sit up and ask them: "What is pop music, and what isn't it?"

There is not a moment wasted on Volta . . . Even some of the more obscure bits bridging songs (e.g.: the harbour noises between the first two tracks) are beautiful.

Up there with her best work of "Verpertine" and "Medulla."

Bonus track (remix of "I See Who You Are") is not as good as the regular album version, but still interesting to have.

5.1 mix fantastic . . .

Needed -- repeat listens and *gasp* engagement on behalf of the audience. Bjork continues to be an artist who places demands on the listener, makes them sit up and ask them: "What is pop music, and what isn't it?"

There is not a moment wasted on Volta . . . Even some of the more obscure bits bridging songs (e.g.: the harbour noises between the first two tracks) are beautiful.

Up there with her best work of "Verpertine" and "Medulla."

(It's a bit frustrating, though, that the record company chose to put the 5.1 mix on a DVD instead of a DVDA or SACD. What's up with that?)

still pushing boundaries . . . fantastic

Bjork Gets Loose?

After a few brief, mostly shelved, collaborations with the hip hop world such as Wu Tang & Dobie, Bjork's Volta finally gives us a hint of her versatility as an artist. Following two quieter releases, Volta combines the stoic beat-heavy melancholy of Homogenic with the isolated romanticism of Debut. If Post was sonically indicative of an album influenced by her vocal recordings in the vastness of a cathedral (recordings also took place near an ocean), Volta has more of a claustrophobic attitude. Despite the French horns, there is almost a tunnel-esque train station or midnight at a shipyard quality to a majority of the tracks.

Unlike artists like Madonna and Nelly Furtado who bring on supplementary producers, Bjork tracks always seem to exhibit her control in the studio. Her Bjorkisms always stay intact whenever she writes with others. But one cannot ignore Timbaland's incredibly experimental beats, a surprisingly complimentary addition to Bjork's strong vocals.

Even Mark Bell's (Bjork's long-time partner in crime) bonus remix of "I See Who You Are" could almost pass as a Timbaland mix with its stunted breakbeats and subtle shifts.
Though Timbaland's influence on three songs on the new album confirms his power as one of the most versatile producers of our time (Timbaland's solo hip hop efforts fail to create the inevitable buzz of his more experimental collaborative work), Volta essentially remains a Bjork record. And rightfully so considering the album was written and produced mostly by Bjork herself.

Touching on politics more than love, sexual aggression more than emotional ambiguity, Volta brings an assertiveness and certainty that we've never experienced on any other Bjork album. Her fascination with disease, physics and the power of nature are still prevalent themes in her writing. But unlike Vespertine and Medulla, Volta has displayed the most diversity in terms of sound, vocal range and melodic structures since the mish-mash that was Post.

Volta is a valiant sounding album that crushes the flower poet pixie stereotype pegged by her critics. Bjork sounds like she's leading an underground tribe of soldiers (perhaps the female Icelandic brass section she assembled on three tracks) and raising a proud flag. "Damn Colonialists/Ignore their patronizing/Tear off the blindfold!" she exclaims on the Pluto-esque "Declare Independence." Her recent performance of "Earth Intruders" on SNL validates her performance power.

Deemed her most "commercial [effort]" by her label, Volta should not be mistaken as a pop album. As Furtado discovers her newfound sexuality with "Loose," Bjork expresses her seedier, lascivious side with Volta. Bjork playfully sings "All this flesh on our bones/ Let me push you up against me tightly/ And enjoy every bit of you."

Makes you wonder who the real promiscuous girl really is.

Her most radical work to date.

Björk has always done weird - it's her default setting. "She sings funny and she don't dance all that great either," as one of her fellow characters noted when she appeared in Lars Von Trier's film "Dancer in the Dark".
Yet she's also had a string of hits 'singing funny' and has sold an awful lot of records on the back of her uncompromisingly outré approach.
Even by her extraordinary standards, however, "Volta" may be her most radical creation to date.
Like everything Björk does, it's full of paradoxes. On the one hand, it's a pop record that fizzes with the hardcore dance beats of Timbaland and sweetens the pill with guest vocals by Antony Hegarty.
On the other, there's an audacious experimentalism which can be heard to best effect in the dazzling 'found sound' symphony of ship's horns that opens "Wanderlust", a song that seems to define her creative philosophy as she repeatedly chants "Relentlessly restless", like a mantra.
It's a record that confirms her as the most interesting and audacious female artist since Kate Bush was at her creative peak.
Billed as a return to "danceable and upbeat" sounds after a string of more experimental albums, "Volta" is actually a flinty, abrasive record, full of anger and bewilderment.
The nearest thing to pop music is "Innocence", one of three Timbaland collaborations; even there the melody is harsh and clipped. "Volta" lacks the unity of vision and enveloping sensuality of "Vespertine" and " Medulla", but no one else could have made this record, voracious in its synthesis of world music: avant rock drummers Chris Corsano and Brian Chippendale, kora player Toumani Diabate and an all-female Icelandic brass section are all here. Repeated listens slowly offer up heady pleasures, notably the eight-minute crescendo of "The Dull Flame of Desire", one of two duets with Antony Hegarty.
Each track feels like a musical experiment with rhythm, timbre and colour. As a collection of individual pieces, it's a 'Who's who' of the current musical Avant-Garde. .
We know that her eccentricity has alienated a lot of her fans but with "Volta", the Impish Icelandic Princess is back on top form.
Only a select few can claim to always be on the forefront of musical advancement.

Volta

Article summary

Customer's review

fantastic

5.1 mix fantastic . . .

still pushing boundaries . . . fantastic

Bjork Gets Loose?

Her most radical work to date.

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