Published on May 7, 1997
The invention of the CD has killed the concept of the album. Not
to state the obvious, but its true. Without the side oneand side
two, releases have become a great series of songs. Very few
releases since CDs have boomed have that “album” feel to it. An
album feel as in you feel like you’re almost obligated to listen to
it, from track one til’ the end.
One release in 1995 has that certain “album” feel to it. So,
gather up, get mildly sedated and for God’s sake, don’t hit the
skip or track select button for Bjork’s intense, arresting album,
Post.
Bjork doesn’t waste time grabbing your attention. The steam
venting, claustrophobic track “Army Of Me” grabs you in as Bjork’s
airy, but still gripping voice sings, “And if you complain once
more/you’ll meet an army of me'”.
Bjork’s voice, one of the most underrated voices in rock today,
is all over the map on
Post. Hearing the soothing “Possibly Maybe,” it’s hard to
imagine this was the same little pixie that was screamin’ “YOW!” on
“It’s Oh So Quiet.” Her voice is matched by some killer production.
The loops on “Army Of Me” and “Hyper Ballad” rival that of Public
Enemy and blow away most of the weak G-funk style samples of many
gangsta rappers.
With so much going on, it’s amazing the album is so unified. Put
on some headphones, kick back and travel into another universe with
Bjork. The album is set up almost like a movie. Each song builds up
to the very intense “Enjoy,” which was co-produced by genre-smasher
Tricky. The relatively simple low note beat is looped throughout
the entire song as Bjork howls, “I’m only in to this to…Enjoy”.
Almost as good is “Isobel,” which manages to mold both hip-hop and
classical orchestra into a visual trip of a song.
After “Isobel” the album takes a dramatic slow down. With the
exception of the intense club mix like “I Miss You” the last two
songs are sort of like songs you listen to to mellow out after a
really great party.
You can listen to this album from front to back the first couple
of times. Some songs tire of repeated listens, such as “It’s Oh So
Quiet.” After being amazed by the video and the big band
production, after 10 or 12 listens, you may want to skip to the
next song “Enjoy.”
Still, it’s great to see an artist who’s not afraid to not only
stand on the edge of a cliff, but fling herself off. Some people
have favorite places to listen to albums. Some albums sound better
in cars, some sound better on CDs, some in cassettes. With
Post, it’s a definite headphones listen. If you happen to
find the b-sides version of this album,
Telegram, don’t bother picking it up.
Post was an album that deserved no b-sides to it. A simple
listen, from front to end, was good enough.