Friday, August 23, 2013

#250: Bjork - Vespertine (2001)


Emily: My general impression of Bjork can be summed up by her infamous swan dress, which she actually wore around the same time Vespertine was released. She even had an egg-shaped purse! So avant garde! Or, more likely, batshit crazy. Luckily for us, there was a significant lack of swan involved in this album - as well as a significant lack of crazy reflected by said swans. What I expected would be filled with earsplitting experimentation was actually a beautiful collection of ambient music, punctuated by Bjork's ethereal singing. The album has a dreamlike quality that softens background noise into fantasy, fitting quite well with the Harry Potter book I've been re-reading. I imagine it would work well as an antidote to studying as well - perhaps I'll try it out in the coming semester. I guess Bjork really was going for avant garde with the swans after all.
Favorite Tracks: It's Not Up to You; Sun in My Mouth; Heirloom

Zack: Bjork is pretty much known for being Icelandic and a little crazy (I’m not sure if the two can be mutually exclusive, and I have no idea if that joke was funny), so I didn’t really know what to expect here. What she delivered was an album of lush soundscapes that envelop you. There’s almost a certain mystical quality to it. Like each song may have come from a really dynamic scene in Spirited Away. Her singing can be hard to understand some time, but it fits in with the music perfectly. Overall, Vespertine was a very unique album that seemed to whirl and whisk across the room while it was playing.
Favorite Tracks: Pagan Poetry; It’s Not Up to You; An Echo, a Stain

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