Björk - Vulnicura

I'd heard of Björk, of course. But until now I wasn't really familiar with any of her music, other than the occasional song that wandered into mainstream land – 'It's Oh So Quiet' and 'Hunter' being my favourites. I came across a write up about Vulnicura while flipping through an in-flight magazine, while killing some time on an interstate trip earlier this year. It sounded intriguing, so I got it and intriguing it turned out to be. Also dark, poignant, complex, rich, at times dissonant and disorientating, and beautifully, tragically sad.

Just a heads up, this album is not your new happy place:

“Our love was my womb but our bond has broken
My shield is gone, my protection is taken
I am one wound, my pulsating body
Suffering be
My heart is enormous lake, black with potion
I am blind, drowning in this ocean
My soul torn apart, my spirit is broken
Into the fabric of all he has woven”
- Black Lake

Still, it's not all a complete abyss of despair. I've read the last track, 'Quicksand', being described as having a “battered optimism” about it and which is also what I thought about it. As Thaddeus said recently, this is definitely an album for the depths of darkest winter – which is exactly what us southern hemisphere dwelling folk are doing right now. Seriously, we've hit single Celsius digits and I've had to dig out a jumper (sweater...) ;-)

Vulnicura is for late nights with red wine and solitude. And duck fat roasted potatoes, if that's your thing.

Here's the link, download and enjoy. Just not right before you're going to a party or something, you know?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fgbbuny5dt00i3c/Vulnicura.zip?dl=0

p.s: a random aside, it turns out that Iceland really is that small. Björk an acquaintance of a fellow exchange student from my student dorm days in Austria. “You're from Iceland? Hey, do you know Björk?” “Actually, I do. She goes to my gym, we swim laps there”. “Well, there you go, hey”