release date: Aug. 27, 2001
format: cd (2008 Japan remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Björk
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Iceland
Track highlights: 1. "Hidden Place" (4 / 5) - 2. "Cocoon" - 3. "It's Not Up to You" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "Undo" (live) - 5. "Pagan Poetry" - 7. "Aurora" (4 / 5) - 10. "Heirloom" - 12. "Unison" (4,5 / 5)
4th studio album by Björk following four years after Homogenic (Aug. 1997) is primarily produced by Björk and is originally released by One Little Indian. Before this she released the soundtrack album Selmasongs (2000), an album with (reworked) songs from the musical film "Dancer in the Dark" starring Björk and directed by Lars von Trier.
Vespertine marks a new change of style with the addition of ambient and glitch pop. A move from trip hop towards glitch pop may not be the biggest imaginable leap, but with the album, Björk introduces a completely different sound compared to any of her previous releases. It's an album with much less focus on electronic beats and a bolder organic sound filled with strings and vocal harmonies.
I've always enjoyed this album and think of it as possibly her biggest accomplishment.
Vespertine is the second album by Björk to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]
2001 Favourite releases: 1. Björk Vespertine - 2. Nathalie Merchant Motherland - 3. Rammstein Mutter
