Homogenic

Released in 1997, Homogenic was Bjork's third studio album and saw the artist in a tumultuous state of mind. She was angry at certain people in her life, and this is reflected in the harsh and primal nature of this album. Homogenic is the kind of album that you will not like straight away, but need to give a few listens before you can truly appreciate it. The same can be said for probably most of Bjork's music, but you don't get as much satisfaction after persisting with them than you do in Homogenic.

"Hunter" opens the album in magnificent style. With supersonic beats sliding all over the arrangement and gentle sighing, it's clear from the first few seconds that this is a manic and eccentric song. The paranoid drums and aching violins work in excellent contrast with Bjork's soft vocals. She begins by singing, "If travel is searching, and home what's been found. I'm not stopping, I'm going hunting. I'm the hunter. I'll bring back the goods, but I don't know when." She sounds here like a wild animal, searching for food in the middle of the night. The lyrics here are so primal and out of control it's unreal. "Joga" manages to succeed in being one of Bjork's greatest ever songs. An old Russian violin opens the song in a depressing tone, before Bjork starts singing. The verses and choruses rise and fall to the actual sounds of Iceland's volcanoes, which Bjork recorded especially for this album. It's amazing - you get all this fresh and natural music on one song, instead of manufactured garbage. As the fourth minute approaches, Bjork starts wailing as her voice echoes before singing, "Emergency...Is where I want to be." Then she starts giggling, as if in awe of the masterpiece she's just created. Genius.

"Unravel" is one of the most heartbreaking songs of Bjork's career and a definite album highlight here. She sings a song of lost love, "While you are away my heart comes undone. Slowly unravels in a ball of yarn. The Devil collects it with a grin. Our love in a ball of yarn. He'll never return it. So when you come back we will have to make new love." Bjork's voice is so packed with emotion and this leads perfectly into the album's true masterpiece, "Bachelorette." This is easily the finest song that Bjork has ever had the pleasure to record. Beginning off with a simple violin, it spirals down and the song begins with a grand piano playing in the song. The majestic beats work so well with Bjork's euphoric voice and the strings that come in after two minutes are just complete genius overload. "All Neon Like" has a strong thumping beat like a heartbeat all the way through. The lyrics are amazing, and the way Bjork totally evolves human art into music can be seen here.

"5 Years" has an interesting beginning with a synthesizer, before beats that sound like stomping feet gradually come to the forefront. Bjork's voice is brilliantly careless and she seems a little angry and vengeful. "Immature" seems to be a little bit of relief from the last two tracks which are completely alien and strange. The song starts off with Bjork humming to her own tune, before she scolds herself for being so immature. She questions her actions and offers her most simplistic answer, "How extremely lazy of me!" "Alarm Call" is one of the more mainstream tracks on the album. It works well with the rest of the songs, however. The beat on this song is just pure joy as Bjork sings about how she wants to go on a mountain-top with a radio and good batteries and play a joyous tune. Then there's the harsh realism when she sings, "I'm no f**king Buddhist, but this is enlightenment!"

"Pluto" is the song that follows and is definitely the most challenging song Bjork has ever recorded. This song has so much energy that it could finish you off for good - the racing beat and grating rhythm is forced into Bjork's angry vocals as she sings, "Excuse me but I just have to explode. Explode this body off me." She then starts screaming at the top of her voice around the second minute, grunting, groaning, wailing, shrieking and crying her way through her torture and pain. It's unlike anything I've ever heard, and you know what? I like it. This works as a complete juxtaposition with the album's final track, "All Is Full Of Love." It finally starts after 30 seconds with some swirling strings. Bjork's voice goes from left to right on this song, and her lyrics are so emotional it will bring a tear to anyone's eyes.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Homogenic is my favourite Bjork album because of the way she presents herself on this album. She just opens herself up and isn't afraid to experiment. There are only 10 songs on this album, but Bjork likes to keep things short and sweet and in this case it most definitely works. If you own Bjork's first two albums but not this one and are planning on buying it, be prepared for a shock! This is Bjork's most inaccessible album of her career. It's hard, frigid and primal on the outside, but if you can break the shell, on the inside you'll find your place at home with the warmth and emotion that Bjork conveys in every single song here.