Published on Sep 29, 1997
The little pixie’s whacked.
For those who thought this year’s Lilith Fair represented the
cutting edge of female artists, Bjork’s new album
Homogenic will sound like a soundtrack for a nuclear
winter.
Bjork was never comfortable doing happy, bopping songs tailor
made for dance clubs. However,
Homogenic represents some of the darkest material Bjork has
ever put out. Even when Bjork soothes, she agitates, as in the song
“All Neon Like”. Her whisper, “I’ll heal you,” brings relief but
just as you’re about to kick back, she growls, “…with a
razorblade/I’ll cut a slit open and the luminous beam feeds you,
honey!!!”
Groups like Prodigy and the Orb are taking the spotlight in the
techno music craze, so you would think that
Homogenic would fit in perfectly. Surprisingly,
Homogenic does not fall into the techno category. Unlike
last year’s tepid
Telegram album, most of the songs on
Homogenic have some musical structure to them. Orchestral
arrangements pop up as often as drum machines do on
Homogenic, making it an uneasy balance between the dance
club and Bjork’s one of a kind musicianship.
Homogenic is incrediably dense, music wise. There’s no butt
moving throb of “Big Time Sensuality” or stand still marvels of
such songs as “Isobel”. That’s not to say some songs on
Homogenic don’t have immediate appeal, they just take a bit
more of exploring for the rhythms to set in. You would swear
“Bachelorette” sounds like the theme song for the next James Bond
movie. And for shock value, Bjork fans will no doubt jump in “Alarm
Call” when Bjork sings, “I’m no fuckin’ Buddhist, but this is
enlightenment.” Musically, “Alarm Call” is innovative by casting
out a catchy beat, then letting it disappear, only to appear for a
few moments thoughout the song.
Other songs are a bit harder to wade through. Bjork’s work with
RZA of the Wu-Tang-Clan is evident on much of
Homogenic. Tracks like “Hunter” and “Unravel” manage to be
menacing without being overbearing. “Hunter” also establishes a
repeating theme in Bjork’s albums:that of being hunted. It could be
due to the recent death of one of Bjork’s stalkers or it just could
be something that she’s interested in, who knows.
The only time that Bjork’s experiments go to the unlistenable
end of the music spectrum is in the song “Pluto”. In a
migraine-inducing bass beat, Bjork lets loose her icepick sharp
trademark shrills for an entire minute. The first listen, I had to
turn the volume down and came dangerously close to pushing the
advance button of my remote.
Another unfortunate aspect of
Homogenic is the music quality. You just can’t listen to
this album on a $20 RCA cassette player you got from Shopko. That’s
the case for ambitious albums, however. After all, does
The Wall sound good on a small, portable cassette player?
Homogenic sounds best in your home stereo system or in your
car, if you have a really, really nice setup.
Bjork needs to be commended just for coming out with something
vibrantly original in this stale year of music. However,
Homogenic will not attract any new fans. Much like Tori
Amos’s album
Boys For Pele,
Homogenic is a fans album. To Bjork fans put off by
Homogenic, all I say is let the album set in. You just might
have the perfect winter album in your hands.
Originally this album got a B from me, just because it didn’t
instantly captivate me like
Debut or
Post did. One more listen though and I liked it more. While
I’m not ready to fully give the big ol’ A for this album, I would
say that it’s worth this grade for now (grade subject to
change).