Björk "Utopia" (2017)

Utopia

release date: Nov. 24, 2017

format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,73]

producer: Björk, Arca

label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Arisen My Senses" - 2. "Blissing Me" - 3. "The Gate" - 4. "Utopia" - 7. "Courtship" (live Later) - 9. "Sue Me" - 13 "Saint"

9th studio album by Björk following almost three full years after Vulnicura (Jan. 2015). As was the case for the predecessor, Björk has teamed up with Venezuelan artist Arca - only this time Arca appears to have been granted a more dominating role, partly as co-composer on five compositions (tracks #1, #3, #9, #11, and #14) but also by being credited electronics, synth melodies and beats, while no one else is credited programming, electronics, or 'beats', which were roles Björk almost alone stood for on her 2015 album. Aside from being songwriter and composer on all tracks, and apart for lead vocal, she is (only) credited for playing digital flute - which appears as a minor role as 13 others are credited exactly that instrument - and for arrangements of vocals, flute, choir, and cello, thus placing her more in the role as a musical arranger leaving programming and 'beats' in the hands of Arca. The album is a quite lengthy one with 14 tracks and a total running time going beyond 71 minutes.

Utopia was met by critical acclaim with Spin setting it as number #29 on its list of the 50 best albums of 2017, Pitchfork ranged it number #20 on its year-end-list also counting the 50 best albums, and Slant put it at number #11 of the 25 best albums of the year.

Despite leaving much responsibilty in the hands of Arca, the album still reeks 'Björk' above anything else. There's no questioning that she's in complete control. And as a result, I think it has turned out as her most delightful studio effort since the great Vespertine (2001).

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, NME, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,4 / 10, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Vulnicura" (2015)

Vulnicura
release date: Jan. 20, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Björk, Arca
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Stonemilker" - 2. "Lionsong" - 4. "Black Lake" - 5. "Family" - 7. "Atom Dance" (feat. Anohni) - 8. "Mouth Mantra" - 9. "Quicksand"

8th studio album by Björk is co-produced by Venezuelan electronic producer / musician Arca [aka Alejandro Ghersi]. Stylistically, a Björk studio album is always within an art pop universe, and here she attributes that with chamber, ambient pop and electronic. It's not far from what she has released before - perhaps the biggest change is the distance to her most recent album Biophilia (Oct. 2011), although, they share the common theme of nature. In many ways this is closer to a mix of her three consecutive albums around the new millennium: Homogenic (1997), Vespertine (2001), Medúlla (2004), and frankly, Vulnicura sounds much like the outcome of a combo of all three albums.
Without containing obvious hits, I think the result is her most interesting album in more than 14 years. An alternative title could have been 'Homogeneous', 'cause that's also what it is.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NME, Spin 4 / 5 stars ]
=> Needledrop review

Björk "Biophilia" (2011)

Biophilia
release date: Oct. 7, 2011
format: cd (Deluxe)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: Björk
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlight: 3. "Crystalline" - 4. "Cosmogony"

7th studio album by Björk who is also credited as producer. Only one track is co-produced by the electronic duo 16bit (track #3), and for the first time around Björk is credited for a vast number of (electronic) instruments and as head of arrangements and the mixing process. The album follows more than four years after Volta (2007) and the album was launched as an "iPad-album", which meant that consumers were able to download the album in a 'Biophilia mother app' with all tracks as individual apps including both sound and vision.
With Biophilia, Björk once again takes decisive choices of sonic texture, which in this case takes her into ambient pop territory with several compositions held in a cappella mood and some with a clear presence of chamber pop and glitch pop - ultimately, making it her so far most experimental studio release.
As usual - one might add - the album was met by critical acclaim and several prize nominations. No hit singles was released with the album, although, it spawned four single releases (tracks #3, #4, #7, and #1). Only "Crystalline" and "Cosmogony" entered the Icelandic singles charts as number #12 and #23 respectively, and no other entries are registered around the world. The album peaked at number #4 in Iceland and in France, as number #9 in Switzerland, but apart from these top-10 entries the album was not a commercial success - basically making it her so far poorest selling studio album; however, music critics seemed to love it.
The album is a highly conceptual one, and may be regarded as Björk's take on environmental issues. After her 2007 album, she had fulfilled her contractual obligations and was in a position of artistic freedom, and free to produce whatever she felt like doing, and this together with her engagement with 'mother nature' as well as a deep financial crisis in all of Iceland gave her the idea to work on this project. You will also notice that she doesn't challenge her voice as on former releases - instead she sings steadily and softly on many of the tracks (some have been recorded earlier), presumably the result of having gone through surgery on her vocal cords. Thus, the album touches on progressive ambient. It's an album rich on sensations and it requires fully attention of the listener, as it also contains interesting details and ideas.
I never enjoyed this much, though, and I basically find it among her least favourable albums - with form over matter as a general complaint, although, one could argue that it may be viewed as a near modern classical work of art, and the idea of the project with music, video and a vision of 'biophilia' represented in all we touch and connect to is anything but mere pretentiousness. However, and knowing that it's a media transgressing release, I focus on the music aspect of the album, and I simply consider Biophilia her least interesting studio album. There you have it!
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, PopMatters 4 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Volta" (2007)

Volta
release date: May 7, 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,04]
producer: Björk
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Earth Intruders" (feat. Konono Nº1) - 2. "Wanderlust" - 3. "The Dull Flame of Desire" - 4. "Innocence" - 11. "I See Who You Are"

6th studio album by Björk is a primarily self-produced album with various others producing and co-producing single tracks. Here, it's Timbaland and Danja (tracks #1 and ¤4 - with Timbaland also co-pro. track #8), Mark Bell (track #9) and Damian Taylor (track #6).
Volta signals a return to a more melodic mainstream pop universe with more traditional electronic instrumentation and with compositions based on drum and bass in a dance pop sphere. It feature several guest musicians including Congolese music project Konono Nº1 and Toumani Diabaté, Antony Hegarty (Antony & The Johnsons) feature on two tracks, Min Xiao-Fen (also on two tracks), Mark Bell, and Sjón.
"Earth Intruders" is the only great track on an album, which is a bit of... everything and nothing, really. Generally, I find the somewhat disappointing predecessor Medúlla (2004) slightly more interesting, although that fails on other parameters. Volta is certainly more pop-minded - at least more danceable, but it's basically also easier forgettable.
This is not one of her better album - in fact it's her so far least favourable.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 ]

Björk "Medúlla" (2004)

Medúlla
release date: Aug. 30, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Björk
label: Elektra - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Pleasure Is All Mine" - 4. "Vökuró" - 6. "Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)" - 8. "Desired Constellation" - 9. "Oceania" - 14. "Triumph of a Heart"

5th studio album by Björk is a primarily self-produced album - Mark Bell is co-producer on tracks #3, #7, and #9. The album was originally released by One Little Indian (by Elektra in North America). Although, a new studio album by Björk always means a new sound texture, this is quite unusual for her as it's almost entirely made up of a cappella compositions and by large choirs - The Icelandic Choir on six tracks and The London Choir on track #9. It also feature several guest artists including Inuit throat singer Tagaq (tracks #1, #6, #11, and #12), vocalist Mike Patton of Faith No More (tracks #1 and #3), and Robert Wyatt (tracks #7 and #9)
The album generally received positive reviews and brought her critical acclaim as well as several prize nominations, however, I have never enjoyed this particular album that much. Yes, it contains a number of fine songs but no really truly memorable ones, and as a whole, I think the more experimental compositions dominate an album, I mostly think of as slightly - I dare say 'boring', simply, by being a mere formative release, which again makes me ponder on the word 'pretentious'. It's like one long voice experiment playing with tribal and throat singing, which in the end becomes less inspiring.
I consider this her first in a series of three consecutive and formative albums without strong appealing traits. So why don't I rate it lower? Well, first of all, it's still clearly above mediocre (2,5 on my scale), and then Björk is an artist who dare experiment and most of the time she actually succeeds in making ground-braking new music because she's an artist who dares taking the big leaps. Here, she may likely satisfy critics and fans by doing the near 'impossible' - she expands the borders of popular music but it also takes a lot of willed attention to digest. She is up front when it comes to rethinking popular music, and this time, she's just off target from my perspective, although, she's still producing new music instead of just replicating formulas, and that takes courage. Björk is in that regard like Zappa - someone who is recognised as a great composer and an important personality when it comes to rethinking modern music.
Not really recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

BEST OF 2001:Björk "Vespertine" (2001)

Vespertine
release date: Aug. 27, 2001
format: cd (2008 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 recommended.
[ 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

Björk "Homogenic" (1997)

Homogenic
release date: Sep. 22, 1997
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Björk and Mark Bell
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Hunter" - 2. "Jóga" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Unravel" - 4. "Bachelorette" (live on Later) - 5. "All Neon Like" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "5 Years" - 10. "All Is Full of Love"

3rd studio album by Björk org. rel. by One Little Indian in the UK and Mother Records in the EU marks a change of style towards a more introvert an darker electronic sound, which is both simpler, in some places more orchestrated and yet more homogenic, which it really is.
I didn't acquire the album at the time of the release. In fact, I didn't until after 2010. In the late 90s I had tired of Björks singing voice - all her grunts, high-pitched sounds, her... vocal, and her sonic universe in general. In many years to follow I rated this album less than mediocre, which I sort of regret, as it's truly refreshing, daring and in many places truly beautiful. The album contains two absolutely great compositions by Björk on which she demonstrates her vocal range and sonic strengths.
Five singles were released from the album, tracks #2, #4, #1, #8 and #10, in that order. "Jóga" was the only to precede the album release, and it performed the best in Iceland where it topped the charts, just as the album did (as her second consecutive in her homeland), but it didn't go anywhere near top 10 in most other countries. "Bachelorette" was the biggest international single release from the album peaking at number #17 in France and at number #21 on the UK singles chart list. "All Is Full of Love" wasn't released as a single until Jun. '99, and it was presented with her most expensive music video so far. The album fared quite well peaking at number #2 in France, number #4 in the UK as well as making it to top 10 in a number of countries. It also peaked at number #28 on the Billboard 200 in the US making it her so far best-charting album here.
Recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, NME, Spin 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Jóga" (1997) (single)

Jóga, cd single
release date: Sep. 15, 1997
format: cd
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Björk, Mark Bell
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: 1. "Jóga (Howie B Main Mix)" - 2. "Sod Off" - 3. "Immature (Björk's Version)" - 4. "So Broken"

Single cd release from the forthcoming album Homogenic originally released by One Little Indian. Yes, "Jóga" is a strong and fine composition, and here it's in a slightly altered version, and with the 3 extra tracks (which are found on the Japanese album version of the album) it doesn't really contribute with anything new.

Björk "Post" (1995)

Post
release date: Jun. 15, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,94]
producer: Björk and Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Army of Me" - 2. "Hyper-Ballad" - 4. "It's Oh So Quiet" - 5. "Enjoy" - 7. "Isobel" - 8. "Possibly Maybe" - 9. "I Miss You"

2nd studio album by Björk. All tracks are produced by Björk, 7 tracks with Nellee Hooper, two with Graham Massey, two with Tricky and one with Howie B.
Stylistically, it's the natural follow-up to Debut with a slightly stronger trip hop element; however, it's still a huge blend of styles centered around electronic styles.
The album feature two of her best-fairing singles ever: "Army of Me" became her first top-10 single in the UK, but was later overtaken by "Hyper-Ballad" reaching #8 and "It's Oh so Quiet" - her highest ranked single ever at #4 on the UK single charts. The album is her best-selling album to date, and it reached #2 on the UK, the Australian and The Swedish albums chart lists.
Shortly after the release I found it slightly bettering her 93 album, and in terms of representing over-the-top production methods and embedded styles, it really is a glorious release. In retrospect, I find it - not as much a faded album, but perhaps compared to her strong debut, it does recycle many of its ideas, and is in that way the result of a strong matrix. Having said that, this is still one of her best albums and as such highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, The Guardian, Spin 4 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Big Time Sensuality" (1993) (single)

Big Time Sensuality, cd single
release date: Nov. 22, 1993
format: cd
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: 1. "Big Time Sensuality" - 2. "Sídasta ég" - 3. "Glóra" - 4. "Come to Me - Black Dog Productions"

Single release taken from the album Debut and originally released by One Little Indian.

Björk "Debut" (1993)

Debut [debut]
release date: Jul. 13, 1993
format: cd (519715-2)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records / One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Human Behaviour" - 2. "Crying" - 3. "Venus as a Boy" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Like Someone in Love" - 6. "Big Time Sensuality" - 9. "Come to Me" - 10. "Violently Happy"

Studio solo debut after leaving the successful indie pop band The Sugarcubes - actually, it's not her actual debut as solo artists since she released her first cover-songs album in her Christian name at the age of 12 in 1977; however, with the title Debut, she initiates her (artistic) adult music career pointing to the fact that her childhood debut should not have critics search for comparisons some 18 years down the line. This is her actual debut as Björk. This is the first issue of the album that consisted of 11 tracks, but already as of Nov. '93, the label reissued the album with 12 tracks and the addition of "Play Dead" on cd issues - later vinyl issues contain the original 11 tracks.
The loss of The Sugarcubes wasn't positively welcomed as they had been a nice blow of fresh air to the music industry, so a solo album by Björk at this point was like a secondary option.
Musically and instrumentally, she wasn't renowned for her musical capabilities, as her main instrument in her former band had been her voice. Therefore, the album almost came as a bit of a shock to everyone - including fans of Sugarcubes. Her vocal remains the same, but the music was brand new. It's literally one of the rare occasions where everything turned out just right. Stylistically, it's a difficult task to pin out - even today, as it represents a huge blend of influences and styles. Yes, it's art pop, and perhaps one should just refer to it as that leaving out the electronic, alt. dance, dance-pop, electropop, trip hop, and house elements, which by no means are just filler styles.
That year the album was aired everywhere. Not just on local and national radio stations, in record stores, not just bars and cafés - the album would be heard in restaurants, in clothes boutiques, shoe shops, and at sports retailers, in airports - you name it. It was like the soundtrack of the year, and it was naturally nominated dozens of prizes all over Europe. Across the Atlantic critics were a bit more controlled, and Rolling Stone even called the album 'a disappointment'; however, the general and wide-spread reception was more than just a thumbs up.
I played the album again and again and truly found it one of the absolute best releases of '93, but I also tired of the sound - not as much the music qualities but the sound of Björk, in general. Anyway, the album is a 'must-have' in any collection of popular music, and it's a quite natural inclusion in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Furthermore, the album is included in many best of lists like Slant Magazine's "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s", Spin's "The 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years", Channel 4's "125 Nominations for the 100 Greatest Albums", Elvis Costello's list of "500 Albums You Need", Melody Maker's "Albums of the Year", Mojo's "The Greatest Albums of All Time... and How They Happened", NME's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" - just to mention some. In retrospect, I find the album worth the positive reviews and think of it as an essential contribution to modern popular music as well as a cornerstone in the history of contemporary popular music.
A musical cornerstone and highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Spin NME 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine, Select 4 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 3,5 / 5 but Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

1993 Favourite releases: 1. Tindersticks Tindersticks - 2. Björk Debut - 3. The Breeders Last Splash

The Sugarcubes "It's-It" (1992)

It's-It, remix album
release date: Oct. 27, 1992
format: cd (MRCD 3205)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: various
label: Mega Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 2. "Leash Called Love (Tony Humphries mix)" - 3. "Blue Eyed Pop (S1000 mix)" - 4. "Motorcrash (Justin Robertson mix)" - 6. "Gold (Todd Terry mix)" - 7. "Water (Bryan 'Chuck' New Mix)" - 11. "Hit (Tony Humphries Sweet & Low mix)"

A remix album by The Sugarcubes originally released on One Little Indian. No, it's not an original studio album of new compositions but it's neither a mere compilation of best of, left overs or rarities but an interesting remix album. The songs are taken from the band's three studio albums and most of them have been heavily remixed by various artists. Only "Regina" comes in a Sugarcubes remix, and that's also the compositions sounding most alike the original version. Some tracks have little in common with the familiar song and others still carry recognisable traits from the blue print, and then some are very fine remixes with new stylistic qualities, and yet others are too strange.
The album was the second album that I bought with the band, and perhaps the reason why I didn't bother buying the other two until later. 'Cause many of the best songs from both Here Today... (1989) and Stick Around for Joy (1992) appear on this in heavily "remixed" versions, and frankly, I found these better than the original album versions, although "Birthday" comes in two versions, none of which are better than the original. "Leash Called Love (Tony Humphries mix)" is an even better song here, and all remixes are composed as dance-pop or alt. dance with house as a common denominator, which only add that extra energy to some of the more ('artsy-farty') art pop original compositions.
All in all, a very fine collection.

The Sugarcubes "Stick Around for Joy" (1992)

Stick Around for Joy
release date: Feb. 18, 1992
format: cd / vinyl (2017 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Paul Fox
One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Gold" (4 / 5) - 2. "Hit" - 3. "Leash Called Love" (4 / 5) - 4. "Lucky Night" - 5. "Happy Nurse" - 6. "I'm Hungry" - 7. "Walkabout" (4 / 5) - 8. "Hetero Scum"

3rd and final studio album by The Sugarcubes. I don't think that I heard this album at the time of its release. I was too tired of the band, and too tired of their inability to provide something close to their most interesting compositions, so I only knew of "Hit" and "Leash Called Love" from radio transmissions, and they simply weren't even enough to catch my interest, at least not until 10 years after or so. Today, I consider the album nearly as good as their debut, and I really only ask myself as to why I didn't find it enjoyable at the time. I think Björk's voice and her physical appearances while performing were what "disgusted" me. "Gold" is almost the best track on the album, but what makes it better than Here Today... (1989) is the overall feel of solid compositions, and it's also the band's most homogeneous album. The song "Hit" reached no. 1 on the American charts of "Modern Rock" as their only no.1. in the US. It's a fine album to end their career. After all, they only released 3 studio albums, and one year after this, Björk released her great solo Debut, which initiated a fine solo career.

The Sugarcubes "Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!" (1989)

Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!
release date: Sep. 1989
format: vinyl (gatefold) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,63]
producer: The Sugarcubes, Derek Birkett
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: 1. "Tidal Wave" - 2. "Regina" (4 / 5) - 3. "Speed Is the Key" - 4. "Dream TV" - 5. "Nail" - 6. "Pump" (3 / 5) - 7. "Eat the Menu" - 8. "Bee" - 9. "Dear Plastic" - 10. "Shoot Him" - 11. "Water" - 12. "A Day Called Zero" - 13. "Planet"

2nd studio album by The Sugarcubes was a highly expected follow-up to a very interesting debut, but moreover, they were so overly hyped at the time after the debut that they could only fail to fulfill the expectations, and therefore they did. I was extremely disappointed and didn't even buy the album at the time. My initial ratings were probably 2 out of 5 stars as I only thought it had one great song, and one so-so. About ten years after I was so tired of Björk's singing voice that I still couldn't listen to this, so it's actually not until after 2005 that I have come to appreciate this album more. Still, I think it contains one great song, and it's still "Regina", which I think nearly pars "Birthday", but the remaining songs appear much better - today, I think. "Tidal Wave" is a fine track, and a few others shine thanks to varied, complex and good songwriting, BUT it's also music a bit away from the daring simple indie pop, which brought them fame in the first place. The song "Pump" sounds like Björk solo, maybe like a track from Debut (1993) or Post (1995)? I don't think this is their very best but in retrospect, I don't think The Sugarcubes ever released anything poor and this album still contains a few good singles.

The Sugarcubes "Life's Too Good" (1988)

Life's Too Good [debut]
release date: Apr. 1988
format: vinyl (tplp5) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: D. Birkett, R. Shulman
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: A) 1. "Traitor" (2 / 5) - 2. "Motorcrash" - 3. "Birthday" (5 / 5) - 4. "Delicious Demon" (4 / 5) - 5. "Mama" - - B) 1. "Coldsweat" (2 / 5) - 2. "Blue Eyed Pop" - 3. "Deus" - 4. "Sick for Toys" - 5. "F***Ing in Rhythm & Sorrow"

Studio debut album by The Sugarcubes produced by Derek Birkett and Ray Schulman. I had really been looking forward to it, hoping for more great tracks like the marvelous "Birthday", so I was a bit disappointed by this after rushing out to buy it upon its release. The opening track is a bit dull and a bit uninspiring. "Motorcrash" is better but still not great. "Delicious Demon" is refreshingly funny and energetic, and a great track. "Mama" is... dull art pop and far from the sparkling energy on their best tracks. "Coldsweat" is like an alternate version of "Traitor", which isn't great. "Blue Eyed Pop" is like Talking Heads on speed, and that's quite enjoyable. "Deus" is again too much art pop but with fine vocals by Björk and Einar Örn. "Sick for Toys" is strange post-punk art punk and a rather weak track, and the closing track (on the original vinyl release) "F***Ing in Rhythm & Sorrow" is also strange, but in a funny crazy drunken blues rock kind of way. Overall, the debut is interesting with great tracks and it appears as highly original but also a bit uneven, and not on par with my expectations; however, it is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and is a recommended album.

The Sugarcubes "Birthday" (1987) (single)

Birthday, 12'' single
release date: Oct. 1987
format: vinyl (12 tp 7)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Ray Shulman & Derek Birkett
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: A) 1. "Birthday" (5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Birthday" (Icelandic) (4 / 5) - 2. "Cat" (Icelandic)

Single release by The Sugarcubes, and the band's first international single, as well as its perhaps biggest (?) international hit featured on their forthcoming debut album Life's Too Good (Apr. '88). The band consists of vocalist Björk Guðmundsdóttir, vocalist and trumpeter Einar Örn (Benediktsson), guitarist Thór (aka Þór Eldon Jónsson), bassist Bragi (Ólafsson) and drummer Siggi (aka Sigtryggur Baldursson) - both Björk, Örn and Siggi had played together in the band Kukl from which they broke out around '86 to from The Sugarcubes.

I remember the song being played almost everywhere, at record stores, and at cafés when it was released, and I puchased it during school holiday in October when it was just being released, as I thought it was a fabulous song, and I could hardly wait until they released an album.

Birthday, CD single

release date: Dec. 1987
format: cd (7tp7cd)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Ray Shulman & Derek Birkett
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: A) 1. "Birthday" (5 / 5) - 2. "Motorcrash" - 3. "Cat" (Icelandic) - 4. "Birthday" (Icelandic) (4 / 5)

CD single issue released two months following the vinyl editions. The single contains the bonus track "Motorcrash", like the title track, taken from the upcoming debut album Life's Too Good (1988).