It's been said by critics this is Björk's best album in years, and as big a fan as I am, and have a lot of love for everything she's put out, my sentiment is the same. At times the songs are no less difficult to grasp than those on her most recent albums (she's more into writing compositions these days instead of traditional songwriting), but even on those it's not hard to find moments where you can feel "this is Homogenic-esque" or "this sounds like it came off Vespertine". This is because the humanity is laid so bare lyrically that connecting with this album becomes all that more natural - as challenging a listen as this can be at times musically. Mostly written about her break-up with long-term boyfriend and father of her 12-year old daughter, artist Matthew Barney, it's refreshing to hear her sing so directly and straight-forward about her life than drowning her thoughts and feelings in her beautiful, quirky trademark metaphors. Then, it's balancing those lyrics with a voice that sounds young and rejuvenated, more akin to Björk of the Debut and Post eras, that makes this album, a mix of older and newer Björk, such a lovely surprise. Frankly this album - as "Björk" as it is - still caught me completely off guard; a hard task for her to do - as you never know what to expect with her. When she challenges herself with grand projects, the all-vocal Medulla, or the tribute to the melding of the universe and technology that was Biophilia, it's fascinating. But when she just lets herself be herself, when she lets her humanity poor out with freedom (Debut), joy (Post), pride (Homogenic), and now utter sadness, it all clicks, coming together flawlessly, and seemingly without effort. Those days I thought could be over. But with Vulnicura, it's clear she's only begun to tell her story. In 2001, Björk took a giant leap in her career by taking the acting lead in Lars von Trier's emotionally devastating film Dancer in the Dark. So powerful a performance it was she was bestowed the Palme d'Or for Best Actress at that year's Cannes Film Festival. Mr. von Trier is known still for putting his female characters - usually the lead and center of his stories - through absolute hell, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. It seems from that experience Björk has learned how to completely bare her own soul through her work in even the saddest of times. Hopefully this liberation will carry her further into new musical explorations as it has here, one of the finest albums from one of today's singular artists with an unparalleled vision completely her own.

Label

One Little Indian