Bjork
“Volta”
It’s been a decade since Bjork took a detour from electronic dance music to craft the experimental and otherworldly songs of “Vespertine” and “Medulla.” With her new album, “Volta,” Bjork is ready to dance again — on her own terms, of course.
“Volta” is the natural follow-up to 1997’s “Homogenic,” gathering a mix of the lush and harsh elements Bjork blends so well. What makes it even more impressive, though, is how she has used the 10 years of musical experience between them to make “Volta” a stunningly effective statement about where popular music is and where it could be.
On the first single, “Earth Intruders,” Bjork teams up with Timbaland, her chanting adding another layer of percussion to the already polyrhythmic track, which also features Konono No. 1’s thumb piano-playing. She plays against the choppy rhythms of “Innocence,” her languid, drawn-out vocals serving as a calming guide while synthesized beats clash around it. “Declare Independence” harnesses the wild energy from the previous track into an anthem for change.
Bjork doesn’t abandon her lush ballads completely. One of the best is her duet with Antony from Antony and the Johnsons, the gorgeous “The Dull Flame of Desire,” though the rousing “Wanderlust” comes close.
With “Volta,” Bjork seems interested in challenging real-world topics again rather than building her own futuristic utopias in her mind. And it seems like struggling to fight has inspired her to new heights.
Bjork is set to play a sold-out show at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
