Björk | "Vulnicura"

[Deleted]

New album coming next year. She's working with Arca.

soundcloud.com/arca1000000

[Juan Carlos]

New album from Björk, slated for a March release, called Vulnicura.



From Digital Spy:

Songs featured on the album are called "Stonemilker", "Lionsong", "History of Touches", "Black Lake", "Family", "Notget", "Atom Dance", "Mouth Mantra" and "Quicksand".

In late 2014, producer Arca announced on Twitter that he was working on new material with Björk, clarifying that he was "co-producing" the album with the artist.

Six of the tracks on Vulnicura were written by Björk, with a further two co-written with Arca and one with John Flynn.

Björk has also orchestrated the string arrangements and produced the entire album alongside Arca and The Haxan Cloak, who were also on mixing duties. Mandy Parnell has mastered the record.

[Deleted]

Always interested to see what she cooks up.

[Active Aggressive]

Seeing her live for the first time at Governor's Ball. I am beyond excited!

[getonthebus]

Why are ALL of my favs releasing in Q1, specifically March, this year. It's completely overwhelming.

[Illusions]

I saw on ATRL that this leaked.

[Deleted]

Her best album since Vespertine.

[Deleted]

Im seeing around the net that people are loving the album. Maybe some clips will be posted soon.

[MikeCheck12]

Can't wait for this!

[luffy]

this leaked, wow.

too bad I wont be able to listen to it for at least a week, really excited to hear the new material

[Deleted]

Sounds great! I admit, in this my first listen, all songs kinda sound alike. Yet, there's this sense that fans who prefer It's Oh So Quiet or Triumph of a Heart, will find this boring or too dark.

I will keep listening to this all night long lol

[Kurt]

Pitchfork is reporting that the album is now rolling out worldwide on iTunes, currently available in at least the UK and available everywhere within the next 24 hours.

[Mic Technique]

Won't listen until it's available on Spotify. But this thought crossed my mind before and now again: seeing that she's enlisted the help of The Haxan Cloak and gay-geek sex symbol Arca, one often overlooks what she has in common with fellow pillager and former collaborator Madonna. They both hang around the cool kids when they're cool, and dispose of them when they're not. But hey, if it produces quality music then so be it.

[SHOOTER]

[MikeCheck12]

Jan 20, 2015 14:56:23 GMT -5 Kurt said:

Pitchfork is reporting that the album is now rolling out worldwide on iTunes, currently available in at least the UK and available everywhere within the next 24 hours.

Thanks for the info. Just checked iTunes and it isn't there yet. Definitely getting this!

[Active Aggressive]

It was there last night when I checked.

[MikeCheck12]

Jan 21, 2015 7:39:02 GMT -5 Active Aggressive said:

It was there last night when I checked.

I guess I better look again then. It was too early. LOL

[SHOOTER]

#3 on iTunes.

[Active Aggressive]

This album seemed very slow and same-y, when I listened to clips. I think Bjork is at her best when she mixes different styles and has some uptempos in there. Despite how weird Medulla was, I loved it for that reason. Same with her classic material. As undeniably talented as she is, her discography is very hit or miss, as far as quality control and consistency.

[SHOOTER]

Projected to debut with 15-20k (18-21k SPS).

Debut peaked at #61 (925k to date).

Post debuted at #32 (680k to date).

Homogenic debuted at #28 (430k to date).

Vespertine debuted at #19 with 75k (410k to date).

Medúlla debuted at #14 with 65k (240k to date).

Volta debuted at #9 with 43k.

Biophilia debuted at #27 with 14k.

[Deleted]

"Stonemilker" is my favorite song by her in over 10 years. Favorite on the album.

[MikeCheck12]

Jan 21, 2015 21:33:57 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

"Stonemilker" is my favorite song by her in over 10 years. Favorite on the album.

Mine too so far. I really love Bjork's vocals.

[Deleted]

Stonemilker, BLACK LAKE!!! and Notget, are the masterpieces I was expecting to hear. They all have their charms, and I like how she still doesn't try to go for the pop route so easily. My only complaint, is that there are only 9 tracks. I'd love for it to be a rule that full albums must have at the very least 10 tracks. Plus, the cover is amazing as well.

[Active Aggressive]

When has Bjork EVER courted pop openly though? I mean, she has had dalliances with pop but even then, pop was bending to her will and any songs she has had that have done well on pop were flukes. It's Oh So Quiet is the only one I can really recall off the top of my head, anyway. Also, I believe Vespertine only had nine tracks. I used to feel the same way but I would rather have a lean album of all killer, no filler than some of the shit artists have churned out, when they can't edit themselves or hire stricter people to do it for them.

[SHOOTER]

Unless you're counting Selmasongs, no Björk album has had less than 10 tracks until now.

[George]

Heard "Black Lake" on the radio while driving home from LA last night. LOVED it!

Can't remember the last time I heard a Bjork song on the radio.

[Deleted]

4/5 from All Music Guide

Never one to do things timidly, with Vulnicura Björk delivers a breakup album that doesn't just express sadness -- it immerses listeners in the total devastation of heartbreak. Starting with the album cover's wound/vulva imagery, she explores the tightly linked emotional and physical pain the end of a relationship brings with an intensity that has been missing from her music for too long. As expertly as she wedded feelings and concepts on Medúlla, Volta, and especially Biophilia, hearing her sing directly about her emotions is a galvanizing reminder of just how good she is at it. For the first time in a long time, the conceptual framework of a Björk album feels like it's in service of the feelings she needs to express, and as she traces the before, during, and after of a breakup, she links Vulnicura to the most emotionally bare parts of her discography. The clearest connection is to Homogenic's electro-orchestral drama, which she updates on "Stonemilker." The way Björk sings "emotional needs" echoes "Joga"'s "emotional landscapes" and prepares listeners for the state of emergency that she's about to throw her listeners into. On "History of Touches," she inverts the hushed intimacy of Vespertine (the album that celebrated the beginning of her relationship with artist Matthew Barney, just as this one chronicles its end) with choppy synth-strings that convey the fractured sensuality of being physically close and emotionally worlds apart. However, Vulnicura's songs are often longer and more deconstructed than either of those albums, and the involvement of co-producers Arca and Haxan Cloak (who also handled most of the mixing) ensures that this is some of Björk's darkest music yet. "Lionsong" brilliantly captures the nauseating anxiety of an uncertain relationship, its warped harmonies and teetering strings evoking a high-stakes game of "he loves me, he loves me not." Even though Björk crawls out of the abyss on the album's final third, which culminates with the relatively hopeful "Quicksand," that agonizing middle section is Vulnicura's crowning achievement and crucible. The ten-minute "Black Lake" allows Björk the space to let everything unravel, and as the strings drone and the beats tower and topple, her straightforward lyrics ("You have nothing to give/Your heart is hollow") perfectly distill the moments of purging and clarity that eventually point the way out of heartache. Here and on "Family," where Haxan Cloak's claustrophobic production makes Björk's anguish (the way she sings "sorrow" contains multitudes) all the more wrenching, the purity of her expression is both highly personal and universal. Vulnicura honors her pain and the necessary path through and away from loss with some of her bravest, most challenging, and most engaging music.

[SHOOTER]

Jan 27, 2015 14:37:10 GMT -5 George said:

Heard "Black Lake" on the radio while driving home from LA last night. LOVED it!

Can't remember the last time I heard a Bjork song on the radio.

I've never heard her on the radio. I think she's only had a single chart 3-4 times.

[Deleted]

In the early/mid-90s, "Human Behaviour" and "Big Time Sensuality" were both big Alternative radio hits. She's only hit the Hot 100 twice ("Big Time Sensuality" at #88 in 1994 and "Earth Intruders" at #84 in 2007-- the latter charted based on digital sales).

[SHOOTER]

Jan 27, 2015 14:59:21 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

In the early/mid-90s, "Human Behaviour" and "Big Time Sensuality" were both big Alternative radio hits. She's only hit the Hot 100 twice ("Big Time Sensuality" at #88 in 1994 and "Earth Intruders" at #84 in 2007-- the latter charted based on digital sales).

Yeah, those and Army of Me seem to be the songs people in general know from her.