Get ready because Bjork’s new album comes out today…

God bless Bjork, she really is quite innovative.

In late May / early June, word began to circulate that Bjork was working on a new project, something having to do with the vastness of the universe. Snippets of songs began to surface and shortly thereafter, she premiered a few samples during her live performances. Then it was revealed that Bjork was going to get all technological on us and record / release the album — one single at a time — via an app for the iPhone and the iPad.

The process — both inventive and tedious — has generated a lot of conversation about Bjork again. Someone who I consider a worthy opponent to discuss music with was talking about Bjork the other day and I posed this question to him: Is Bjork still relevant? The answer is not one that’s easily arrived at.

When she burst onto the musical scene with “Debut“, she was this fresh-faced imp with a wacky style and an even wackier style of music. When “Post“, “Homogenic“, and “Vespertine” came along — her second, third, and fourth albums — she quickly established herself as an artist so forward-thinking and innovative that it left all others far behind her. Her music bent and forced the listener into appreciating it, instead of being something that was conventional and instantly accessible. Through that journey, the listener’s taste evolved into a deeper level of music appreciation. The difficulty of her music has always been the driving force behind her success.

Then came the tipping point.

The surprise reaction of her unexpecting fans turned into a feeling of expectation, and unfortunately, this has become Bjork‘s greatest burden. She is a true artist, and thus feels the need to create something cutting edge and other worldly. With “Medulla” — a completely vocal album — the concept was utterly brilliant but the execution resulted in only a handful of listenable songs, “Triumph of the Heart” being possibly one of her best songs of this decade. And although “Volta” had some promising tracks, it lacked any real spark.

And now we come to “Biophilia“. I’ve listened to the album in full from start to finish three times and I’ve yet to form an  opinion about it. Sure, there are some standout tracks. “Crystalline” and “Virus” are two of the albums strongest compositions. “Cosmogony” is an odd tale on the beginnings of the universe, and features one of the most intimate performances by Bjork on the album. Overall, the album isn’t giving anything, and at points it’s quite difficult to find the musicality within. Upon first listen, I hated it. The second time, I came to appreciate some aspects of it. The third time I became utterly frustrated with it and went on to listen to “Homogenic” instead.

So to answer the question ‘Do I believe she’s still relevant?’ I would answer yes. As the musical landscape changes, Bjork certainly changes with it. I’d venture to say that she’s a few steps ahead of the industry right now and probably always will be. For now, I need to spend some more time with “Biophilia” to see if I can find the brilliance in it.

I suggest you do the same…

-B

P.s. I will give her a 10/10 for the visual campaign. The single images and the album cover are brilliant and quite evocative. Just saying…