BJÖRK MEDULLA ALBUM POLYDOR, UNIVERSAL RELEASE: AUGUST 25, 2004 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 10, 2004

To be frank, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with “Medulla”. On one hand I think Björk is brave to really do her own thing and record an entire album based on the human voice, even the rhythms. On the other hand, I simply can’t stand it at times, it’s just waaay too much Björkness around. Her voice never settles down, never finds a discernable melody (it seems), always finding new ways to wander, breathe and almost shout. The album is also rather pretentious at times. I’m left with the effects of a Björk overdose.
There’s actually only one song I fully enjoy: “Who Is it” where some recognizable melody is placed on top of interesting beats made out of a processed human beat-box.
I think some of Björk's previous material is totally brilliant; this is not very listenable though. Even a friend of mine who is a huge Björk fan thinks "Medulla" is weak. But maybe I'm just too daft to understand it.

JOHAN CARLSSON