 Björk Like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, and the Banana Splits, Björk is an artist that truly thrives in the EP format. One great single, a couple choice b-sides, a dark remix, and ho! There you have it, 20 or 30 minutes of mood music with none of the ponderous intent people expect from a full-on album. Maybe the EP is the best possible thing, when it's done right. This maxi-single is pretty much there. "Big Time Sensuality" was the best single off Debut (and remains possibly Björk's most straightforward song) – presented here in the album version as well as the "Fluke Minimix" (a consistently interesting remix). The weirdo "Sidasta Ég," sung in Icelandic and featuring really spare guitar-based instrumentation, is moody and pretty different from the typical Björk stuff nowadays, which is great but kind of predictable in its twiddly arbitrariness. "Glóra" is a flute piece performed by Björk, kind of haunting in the same way the Wizard Women of the North compilation is. Very, very spare and evocative (though by no means amazing). A remix of "Come to Me" by Black Dog Productions is characteristically dark, as at least one remix on a Björk EP needs to be. Overall, Björk fans will get the most out of this, but casual fans can safely pass it over. It's not music of the utmost permanence, as can be said of almost every artist that rock critics love at any given time. At some point, Björk will be "classic" in the same way the Beatles are – that is, inarguably so, but to a greater degree than is really deserved. I'm still waiting for the one Björk song that just tears my heart out. Then again, "The Dance" by Garth Brooks pretty much does that to me, so who's to say I should even be talking?
Review by Jpeg Jones |