Bleep

Bjork has recorded many albums, under many different agendas, but there hasn't been one as openly honest, vulnerable, yet powerful as this. Thematically this is a follow up to Vespertine; a record that narrated the magical nature of falling in love, Vulnicura however is a diary entry of coming out the other side, her break-up with her partner Matthew Barney. Co-produced by Arca and The Haxan Cloak, the cinematic string arrangements, and the hiccuping percussion, alongside her lyrical confrontations and confessions, bring together a collaboration that is both symbiotic and dynamic. Written during the nine month period before her relationship ended, the first three tracks illustrate the confusion and denial on the impending break-up, while the following tracks move through the phases, 'Black Lake' drowns you with questions and pounding driving percussion, while 'Family' has The Haxan Cloak's sound of the universe ripping apart. The last three tracks shed the heart break's dead skin, and the track 'Atom Dance' emerges featuring Antony Hegarty, with her 'dancing towards transformation'. The final track on the album 'Quicksand' is a collaboration between Bleep's own Spaces, where they have re-arranged his track 'Apologies' (that was released on his Spaces One EP), into a track of stuttering salvation. This is an incredibly sincere work, in which she channels all of her strengths and struggles into an album that demands the listener to be as receptive as her in listening to it.