Like a magical being who has come from another dimension to charm us with her alluring sounds, the inimitable Björk has had us spellbound for three very eccentric decades. With her instantly distinctive voice and unique style,
INSTE PREVIEW
Bjork crafts a lush landscape on Utopia; Paloma Faith’s The Architect finds her sharing socio-political thoughts.
Artist: Björk
Album: Utopia
Like a magical being who has come from another dimension to charm us with her alluring sounds, the inimitable Björk has had us spellbound for three very eccentric decades. With her instantly distinctive voice and unique style, the Icelandic queen of art pop has established herself as one of the world’s most innovative contemporary artists. Her latest album, Utopia, takes listeners on yet another mesmerizing musical odyssey.
The singer’s ninth studio release sees her continue her collaboration with Venezuelan producer Arca, creating 14 tracks that play with unorthodox structures, building enchanting atmospheres with electronic backgrounds and layered vocals. Amidst the flutes, cellos, harps, and bird sounds, Björk crafts a lush, textured landscape that brings the fascinating world she envisions to sonic life.
In contrast to 2015’s heartbreak-ridden Vulnicura, Utopia is imbued with brighter tones, exploring a mix of vulnerability and hopefulness at the beginning of a budding romance. It’s an offbeat look at new love in what she calls her “Tinder album”, which explains the lyrical references to technology, as music nerds text and swap MP3s in ‘Blissing Me’ and swipe left on a dating app in ‘Courtship’.
There’s a lot going on in each of these songs, and it takes a number of listens to unravel their many layers. This won’t be your favourite Björk release if you prefer her output when she marries her avant-garde tendencies with pop sensibilities. The focus here isn’t on the melodies – which might leave you wishing the tunes had been stronger and a bit more immediate – but on making fascinating soundscapes. Listeners who find Björk more intriguing when she indulges her experimental whims will appreciate all the work that has gone into this record and will find delving into Utopia a rewarding experience, discovering something new with each listen.
Artist: Paloma Faith
Album: The Architect
Even pop stars aren’t immune from political pondering in this post-Trump, post-Brexit era. That supposedly is what Paloma Faith has tried to do on her latest record, The Architect. The singer’s fourth album finds her sharing her socio-political thoughts in 15 tracks with lyrics so vague that they barely convey her observational intentions.
Helmed by what seems like a whole army of producers, the record comes off as passionate and sincere but unnecessarily overproduced. The English singer – who gets co-writing credits on all but one of the songs – puts her soulful voice and distinctive style to good use on standout tunes like title track ‘The Architect’, the strings-fuelled ‘Guilty’ (which would be at home over the opening credits of a James Bond film), and the upbeat ‘Til I’m Done’.
But elsewhere, things don’t really make the kind of impact that the singer would have hoped. Many of the songs sound too generic, like ‘I’ll Be Gentle’, a by-the-number duet with John Legend, and ‘Warrior’ a typical, grating Sia co-penned ballad, the kind that has been rehashed by the songwriter so many times that it should simply be outlawed at this point.
There are interesting flourishes in places and some unexpected moments on the record – the album opens with a spoken-word intro by Samuel L. Jackson – but overall The Architect doesn’t make the most of its artist’s unique personality or allow her to fully immerse herself into the thematic elements she sought to explore.
