Utopia

About

Not content to rest on her laurels following 2015’s acclaimed experiment <i>Vulnicura</i>—a living, breathing document of a painful split from longtime love Matthew Barney—Björk quickly got to work on her ninth studio release. If <i>Vulnicura</i> was about “the emotional cold nights” of their breakup, then 2017’s cheerily titled <i>Utopia</i> was designed to evolve from that dark place. <i>Utopia</i> would also continue the native Icelander’s enduring affinity for the natural world—though Björk was careful to qualify that thought: “Nature means a lot to me, but not in the way people think,” she told a journalist in 2016. “It’s not this romantic, idyllic, let-us-go-back-into-the-caves thing. That’s why I get annoyed when I get all my elf and volcano questions from people who have watched too much <i>Lord of the Rings</i>. There is a truth in it, but it is also a lazy cliché.” Unsurprisingly, clichés are hard to come by on <i>Utopia</i>. The album’s expansive opening track, “Arisen My Sense,” layers harp and stuttering percussion over left-field samples and joyful lyrics about life-altering kisse. “Blissing Me” features shimmering, almost church-like vocal, while the title track—with its crackles and caws—could be beamed in from some Jurassic fantasy. Meanwhile, the lead single, “The Gate,” sweetens its rippling electronic, bird sound, and woodwinds with a tender, looping refrain: “I care for you.” .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →