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Amazon.co.uk Review
Björk's main asset as a musician is her fearlessness. Since the end of The Sugarcubes and the pop-dance of Debut, she has released progressively more experimental records. But after well over a decade of going further and further out, Volta steps back. Make no mistake; this is Björk, and so it's still fabulously weird. Like 2004's mesmerizing Medúlla and the 2005 soundtrack for Drawing Restraint 9, the songs are blissfully peculiar, with narratives about love, offspring, aliens...you name it. Yet melodically and philosophically, Volta recycles more than it innovates; the driving pulse of "Declare Independence," for instance, reminds us of Homogenic's "Pluto," and the lead single "Earth Intruders" sounds like Post's "Army of Me" on steroids. And just as Medúlla oriented itself around a certain instrument--the human voice--this one concentrates on horns.
Still, the transition between her early work and the avant-garde bender she's been on since Vespertine is pretty harrowing, and it's satisfying to hear Björk revisit her more accessible self. Uber-producer Timbaland pitches in here and there, most successfully on "Innocence," which uses a fat, disjointed pulse to drive the euphoric vocals forward. Elsewhere, the hyperactive sitar sample on "I See Who You Are" provides texture for the song's theme of enjoying each other while there's still "flesh on our bones." And "Pneumonia" makes fantastic use of the horn section with a soft arrangement that compliments the song's lyrical melody.
So while it's a bit of a stall, Volta is a lovely pause. It reminds us how much we appreciate the laboratory of Björk’s imagination, but also how much we missed her back when she was just goofing around. --Matthew Cooke
Review
The opening ''Earth Intruders'' sets the tone for Volta's multi-faceted, guest-heavy approach. Produced by Timbaland and featuring percussion from collaboration-happy improv drummer Chris Corsano and Konono No.1, a Congolese shanty-town collective who build a polyrhythmic shuffle out of makeshift percussion and electric thumb-pianos, it's an ecstatic, bounding war march, Bjork chanting 'We are the earth intruders/We are the paratroopers/Stampede of sharpshooters'. There's more evidence on Volta that Bjork's in a percussive kind of mood - Corsano pops up on another tracks, 'I See Who You Are', while another freeform drummer, Brian Chippendale of experimental duo Lightning Bolt adds a distant, chaotic rumble to the Antony Hegarty duet, ''The Dull Flame Of Desire''. But just as common is jarring techno beats, the warm horns of an Icelandic brass section, or the twang of the African kora.
Ultimately, then, it's easiest to understand Volta through the precocious personality of Bjork herself. Here, she sounds energised and politicised - ''Hope'' is a philosophical tract about suicide bombers, while ''Declare Independence'' finds her chanting 'Start your own currency/Make your own stamp/Protect your language/Declare independence' over robust electronic beats and glitches. But also, Volta is shot through with a very immediate, live-for-the-moment passion. On ''I See Who You Are'', Bjork celebrates her lover's body before aging and death takes its toll: 'Let's celebrate now/All this flesh on our bones/Let me push you up against me tightly/And enjoy every bit of you.' Joyful, expressive, brave, intelligent: in short, another great Bjork album. --Louis Pattison
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Customer Reviews
The highlight for me is Pneumonia, about a person who is so full of pain that they hide away from the world to avoid more hurt, 'get over that sorrow, girl, get over it'. The music and lyrics all come together here to tell a tale with beauty and emotion.
Other great tracks include: Dull Flame of Desire, Wanderlust and I See Who You Are.
The album version of 'Innocence' is unremarkable unlike it's EP incarnation, Simian Mobile Disco Twelve Inch Remix, which makes me want to dance and is a tonic of pure energy.
'Declare Independence' and 'My Juvenile' aren't very melodic and quite academic, conceptual stuff, I don't like them.
Earth Intruders was an odd choice for a single I think, it gets bogged down with poor lyrics where the poetry doesn't quite flow. Collaboration with Sjón Sigurdsson, who wrote lyrics for Oceania on Medúlla and Bachelorette from Homogenic are times when Björk leaps out from the Earth's gravity and into the heavens.
For me this album is Björk's weakest overall, with songs I either love or loathe, nothing inbetween.
I'm so pleased she's still putting out her music.
Opening track `Earth Intruders' reaffirms Bjorks cult status with dirgy sounds and macabre backing vocals. The backbeat suggests a driving force whilst the vocals take an abstract look at the pagan nature of human endurance. The track ends establishing a raw and dirty feel for the album before quickly moving onto lyrics exposing discomfort with religion and lust for social satisfaction.
`The Dull Flame of Desire' is a duet borrowing the equally unique voice of Anthony Hegarty from the up and coming jazz ballad act `Anthony and the Johnsons.' An ominous orchestra introduces lush interlaced vocals which raises tension to the point where the tribal sound of drums dominates. This particular track is a showcase for Bjorks ability to use rich harmony, creating moments of magic which surface throughout the record.
Clever instrumentation throughout, Volta boasts an array of electronic noises and merges them with traditional styles collected from around the world. The track `I See Who You Are' is a welcome return to intimacy, with imagery bringing the lyrics to life. A pipa (Chinese lute) skilfully played provides the exotic escapism needed to warm the senses. This imagery quickly clouds over as the album turns dark, yet still encapsulating the listener with the sound of the unknown.
A philosophical Bjork embarks on an understanding of free will and evil, with a painstakingly honest approach to discussing suicide bombings in a musical context. Latter track `Declare Independance' braves political ground as the singer takes a stance against colonial powers, with distorted kickdrums punching her point across. The album closes with `My Juvenile,' a maternal offering of love to her son. This track sees the return of Anthony Hegarty and ensures the album ends on a sombre yet peaceful tone, albeit sweetly melancholic.
Volta contrasts heavily to the soft and luscious feel of its predecessors `Medulla' (2004) and `Vespertine,' (2001) opting to pursue more impressionable sounds and heavier rhythms. The constant dynamics in the mood of the album makes for an intense rollercoaster journey. Sometimes boisterous, tense and unsettling, each word chosen carefully and highlighted appropriately, the tone unwinds, drifting into moments of tranquillity and peace, leaving the listener at its mercy.
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The opener of the record "Earth Intruders" literally marches into your head-- (We Are The Earth Intruders/We Are The Earth Intrudes/Muddy and Twigs and Branches)--With African-tribe beats, drums and nice tempo beats it is easy to say that Bjork is going back to the mainstream world back in '95 with her release "Post", but since when have Bjork been mainstream? Bjork new beats are clearly more "mainstream", if you can call them mainstream, but her songs have Bjork written all over them.
With the help of Timbaland Bjork pulls off two more up beat tracks (The First being "Earth Intruders")--Innocence and Hope--. "Innocence" it's probably the strongest and most mainstream song of the record--and also one of my favorites--, it still contains Bjork in it but in a less innocence way. "Wanderlust", "The Dull Flame of Desire" and "See Who You Are" are pretty similar ballads, each with their own up beat bass on the back. "Dull" is a duet with Antony Hegarty and "See Who You Are" has a great remix by Mark Stent. "Declare Independence" is probably the hardest song to swallow; it has that "Pluto" from Homogenic sound. "My Juvenile" its Bjork song to Sindri, -- (My Juvenile/I Truly Say/You Are My Biggest Love)--probably the deepest song, lyrically, on the whole record. The album shows intensity and persistence, and most importantly rhythm. The record contains interludes in between the songs, which bring the songs together as a whole connecting their different sound into just one steady rhythm.
I always wondered what Bjork + Timbaland would be like, and now I know. It is Bjork at its best, not saying that "Volta" it's better than "Vespertine" or "Homogenic" but the record stays true to Bjork, it definitely stays on her standards and it is a new chapter in Bjork's music.
i clicked instantly with the full poppy tracks such as "earth intruders" "wanderlust" "innocents" "dull flame of desire" and "declare... Read more
Of course she is going to experiment, no one is alive forever and we need to do what we want, in the time we... Read more
Well I must say it was a HUGE dissapointment for me. I like half the album, this is unusual for me. Read more
you need to buy this! :P
Each of the eleven songs presented to us here has a visceral certainty and emotional clout... Read more
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