Björk - Homogenic (1997)

01 - Hunter
02 - Jóga
03 - Unravel
04 - BACHELORETTE
05 -All Neon Like
06 - 5 Years
07 - Immature
08 - Alarm Call
09 - Pluto
10 - All Is Full Of Love

Personnel
    Alasdair Alloy – glass harmonica
    Vaughan Armon – violin
    Mark Bell – keyboards
    Sigurbjorn Bernhardsson – violin
    Mark Berrow – violin
    Björk – keyboards
    Mike Brittain – bass
    Jeffrey Bryant – horn
    Roger Chase – viola
    Ben Cruft – violin
    Sigrun Edvaldsdottir – violin
    Paul Gardhaim – bass
    Roger Garland – violin
    Wilfred Gibson – violin
    Isobel Griffiths – orchestra contractor
    Sigurdur Bjarki Gunnarsson – cello
    Hrund Hardardottir – viola
    Bill Hawkes – viola
    Steve Henderson – timbales, tympani
    Paul Kegg – cello
    Yasuhiro Kobayashi – accordion
    Peter Lale – viola
    Chris Laurence – bass
    Helen Liebmann – cello
    Martin Loveday – cello
    Alasdair Malloy – glass harmonica
    Perry Mason – violin
    Jim McLeod – violin
    Perry Montague-Mason – violin
    Trevor Morais – drums, electronic drums
    Jon R. Ornolfsson – cello
    Peter Oxer – violin
    Paul Pritchard – bass
    Maciej Rakowski – violin
    Frank Ricotti – snare drums
    George Robertson – viola
    Guy Sigsworth – clavichord, keyboards, pipe organ
    Moeidur Anna Sigurdardottir – viola
    Una Sveinbjarnardottir – violin
    Mike Thompson – horn
    Sif Tulinius – violin
    John Tunnell – cello
    Helen Tunstall – harp
    Gavyn Wright – violin

By the late '90s, Björk's playful, unique world view and singular voice became as confining as they were defining. With its surprising starkness and darkness, 1997's Homogenic shatters her "Icelandic pixie" image. Possibly inspired by her failed relationship with drum'n'bass kingpin Goldie, Björk sheds her more precious aspects, displaying more emotional depth than even her best previous work indicated. Her collaborators -- LFO's Mark Bell, Mark "Spike" Stent, and Post contributor Howie B -- help make this album not only her emotionally bravest work, but her most sonically adventurous as well. A seamless fusion of chilly strings (courtesy of the Icelandic String Octet), stuttering, abstract beats, and unique touches like accordion and glass harmonica, Homogenic alternates between dark, uncompromising songs such as the icy opener, "Hunter," and more soothing fare like the gently percolating "All Neon Like." The noisy, four-on-the-floor catharsis of "Pluto" and the raw vocals and abstract beats of "5 Years" and "Immature" reveal surprising amounts of anger, pain, and strength in the face of heartache. "I dare you to take me on," Björk challenges her lover in "5 Years," and wonders on "Immature," "How could I be so immature/To think he would replace/The missing elements in me?" "Bachelorette," a sweeping, brooding cousin to Post's "Isobel," is possibly Homogenic's saddest, most beautiful moment, giving filmic grandeur to a stormy relationship. Björk lets a little hope shine through on "Jòga," a moving song dedicated to her homeland and her best friend, and the reassuring finale, "All Is Full of Love." "Alarm Call"'s uplifting dance-pop seems out of place with the rest of the album, but as its title implies, Homogenic is her most holistic work. While it might not represent every side of Björk's music, Homogenic displays some of her most impressive heights. --- Heather Phares, Rovi

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