Reviews (page 10 of 14)
Nice voice, delivery similar to Billy Corgan
Some good beats
All over the place and very much of its time. But it’s a good start. I prefer Post from this period.
I am pretty sure I need to listen to this 5 more times to properly opine. I've tried to get into Bjork over the years, and this was the closest I've been to "getting" it. I can see why people like her, but it still didn't quite blow me away. This rating may change with time, and if nothing else, a closer listen has intrigued me enough to try again soon.
One of those odd albums. Pop but done a lot of different ways. Slow ballads, dance stuff, songs I can’t really describe. Overall I liked it, but probably a little weird to give a raving review.
Odd but good. Didn't really blow me away but enjoyed it all the same.
Okay
I LOVED this at the time, but on reflection it isn’t an amazing piece of work
👍
I respect it, I don’t enjoy it.
Bjork is such a talented song-writer. Every song she writes is unique in it's own right. So many interesting beats and timbres. Each song creates a different world encapsulating a myriad of instruments. "Come to Me" invents trip hop before it was a thing. "Like Someone In Love" is straight out of a 1960s movie score. "Big Time Sensuality" is an 80s hit. "Violently Happy" is 90s trance. Pretty sure there was a sea shanty in there somewhere, too. Issue is... I really don't vibe with her voice or vocal melodies. And if that's not right, then I can't fully get into it, as much as I love the instrumental elements of every song. Still couldn't put it lower than a 3 for how revolutionary her sound is and I bet this album alone has inspired countless future producers. 5.5 / 10 TLDR; really impressed, probably won't listen to much of it again.
I much prefer this album to her more recent music. Im gonna sound a like an old fart when I say that her earlier stuff is more accessible to older ears! Her voice is so beautiful, and her music sounds unique, but it's just not my thing. 3 stars
The moody and tense music is good and Bjork certainly brings plenty of drama to the table. It's quite left field unconventional although there's a club friendly sensibility. There's some interesting song titles, although I'll be damned if I can hear her lyrics. The jury is also still hung over how good her vocals are; I personally find her singing style grates to the point it's tediously annoying.
No comment
ok
I listened to this and the words that came to mind were unconventional and dissonance. Bjork is a unique person with a unique singing style. Her timing almost seems off sometimes on what she sings, but it's not. Her note selection sometimes seems to fall a bit outside of the chord structure of the backing music, but all of that serves to keep things interesting. I like the tone of her voice also when it sounds a bit raspy. This is definitely a 90s sounding album. This was my second time listening to it. It didn't blow me away but then it wasn't bad either. Human Behavior and Come To Me were standouts.
I really like her voice I just think the instrumentals are a bit sparse for my taste
good album! i like bjorks stuff, but sometimes its not what i need. 3.5/5
Il y a des albums qui, sans être des chefs-d'oeuvre absolus, ouvrent une brèche vers un univers tellement singulier qu'on leur pardonne volontiers leurs rides et leurs petites faiblesses. "Debut" de Björk, c'est exactement ça, une sorte de baptême du feu, un "Bonjour, je suis là et vous n'avez encore rien vu", lancé à la face d'un monde musical qui, en 1993, ne savait pas trop sur quel pied danser. Remettons-nous dans le contexte, nous sommes en 1993, Kurt Cobain a déjà tout hurlé et s'apprête à tirer sa révérence, laissant le grunge exsangue. De l'autre côté de la Manche, une armée de mecs en anorak commence à nous expliquer que la vie moderne est nulle ("Modern Life is Rubbish" de Blur sort la même année) et que le salut viendra d'une guitare Gretsch et d'une coupe au bol. L'indie rock, mon fond de commerce de l'époque, se regarde un peu le nombril, entre deux riffs lo-fi. Et au milieu de ce foutoir, débarque une Islandaise, pas tout à fait une inconnue pour ceux qui avaient suivi les frasques post-punk des Sugarcubes, mais qui décide de tout plaquer pour s'installer à Londres et s'encanailler avec la scène électronique. Le titre, "Debut", est à la fois une vérité et une petite pirouette. C'est son premier album solo officiel en tant qu'adulte, mais les vrais fétichistes savent qu'elle avait déjà commis un disque à l'âge de 12 ans en 1977, une bizarrerie locale remplie de reprises en islandais. Mais oublions l'anecdote. Ici, c'est une véritable naissance, la mue d'une chanteuse de groupe un peu barrée en une artiste totale, prête à bouffer le monde. Et pour ce faire, elle s'acoquine avec Nellee Hooper, le type qui a façonné le son de Soul II Soul et Massive Attack. Un choix qui n'a rien d'anodin, l'influence du "son de Bristol" est palpable, mais Björk le passe à la moulinette de sa propre excentricité. Le problème, c'est que trente ans plus tard, la production sent parfois la naphtaline. On est en plein dans l'eurodance et la house "bon goût" du début des années 90, avec ses boîtes à rythmes un peu rigides, ses nappes de synthé qui aujourd'hui sonnent comme une vieille compilation Dance Machine. C'est ça, le fameux "coup de vieux" que l'on ressent, c'est un son daté, marqué au fer rouge par son époque. Quand on a connu, comme moi, l'explosion de l'électro plus brute et cérébrale de la fin de la décennie avec des gens comme Aphex Twin ou Underworld, on ne peut s'empêcher de trouver ça un peu propret. Pourtant, malgré ce vernis qui s'est un peu écaillé, l'album tient encore debout. Et il tient debout grâce à une chose : les chansons. Ou plutôt, une poignée de chansons. Car, soyons honnêtes, "Debut" est un disque à deux vitesses. D'un côté, il y a les singles, d'une efficacité redoutable, des missiles pop qui ont squatté les ondes et les clips sur MTV. "Human Behaviour", avec son rythme tribal et son clip génial de Michel Gondry, reste un classique absolu. On y sent toute la folie douce du personnage, cette vision enfantine et animale de l'humanité. "Venus as a Boy", avec ses cordes bollywoodiennes et sa sensualité à fleur de peau, est une merveille de délicatesse. "Big Time Sensuality" et "Violently Happy" sont des bombes pour le dancefloor, des hymnes à la joie un peu hystériques qui, à l'époque, détonnaient franchement. Ces morceaux sont la vitrine, la raison pour laquelle des millions de gens ont découvert cette voix venue d'ailleurs, capable de passer du murmure à l'éruption volcanique en une fraction de seconde. Et puis, il y a le reste, des titres beaucoup plus anecdotiques. "Aeroplane" et ses airs de jazz de salon, la reprise un peu mièvre de "Like Someone in Love"... On sent que l'artiste se cherche, qu'elle explore des pistes qu'elle abandonnera par la suite. C'est le carnet de croquis d'une musicienne en devenir. Elle a elle-même avoué plus tard que cet album était pour elle une sorte de "répétition", une compilation de mélodies écrites pendant son adolescence. C'est touchant de sincérité et ça explique ce côté un peu disparate. Alors, pourquoi ce disque est-il dans cette fameuse liste des "1001 albums" ? Parce qu'il est un document. Le témoignage brut de l'éclosion d'une des artistes les plus importantes et iconoclastes des trente dernières années. C'est l'instant T où une créature musicale unique a décidé de prendre son envol, avec ses maladresses et ses fulgurances. On sent la liberté, l'excitation de la découverte, une forme de naïveté touchante avant qu'elle ne devienne la prêtresse de l'avant-garde sur des albums bien plus maîtrisés comme "Homogenic" ou "Vespertine". Ce n'est pas son meilleur disque, loin de là. C'est un album que j'écoute avec une certaine tendresse, comme on regarde de vieilles photos. On sourit du style vestimentaire, on se souvient de l'époque, mais on ne s'habillerait plus comme ça aujourd'hui. Mon 3 sur 5 est là pour ça : saluer l'importance historique, l'audace, la naissance d'un monstre sacré, tout en admettant que la magie a un peu pâli avec le temps. C'est un disque imparfait, inégal, parfois un peu kitsch, mais il est la première page d'une histoire fascinante. Et rien que pour ça, il reste un album à découvrir, ne serait-ce que pour comprendre d'où vient le volcan.
Some great tracks
It's Bjork bjork-ing out. Odd, lovely, and interesting. The first three songs are bangers, but then things get a bit spotty. Her voice becomes part of the lush soundscape at times. Highlights: "Human Behaviour" (cool percussive backing track to Bjork's mutters and wails), "Crying" (catchy piano line running through the song), "Venus as a Boy" (almost sounds like gamelan music rhythmically, I like the swooping strings), "Aeroplane" (the swinging horns give it a different flavor) Notable: "There's More to Life Than This" (the part where the music randomly lowers in volumes and her vocals are loud is off-putting)
Liked it, very 2000s/2010s indie teen movie. Probably wouldn’t play it through again but I didn’t mind it while it was on!
Very interesting album, not the best I've heard from bjork
Not my cup of tea really but enjoyed Violently Happy
There is only one Bjork. Some great ones on e here but not every song killed it.
2024-09-21...
About half of the album is great, the other half is awful. Favorite song: human behaviour.
I like Bjork, didn't really like the album.
Maybe because I’m not familiar with her work and it’s from a long time ago, I fail to appreciate the hype. But she does have a nice style of alternative music
Sometimes I like Bjork and sometimes I don't. This time I did.
It was alright.
More digestible than the last two. Still weird though.
6/10 - This bjork album really had the energy of bjork sings and then someone in a different room plays whatever they want on an instrument or two and then someone else finds some nature sound to throw in the background. They then submit the music without listening. Like someone in love is the epitome of this. I liked Big Time Sensuality and Play Dead. Somehow Bjork always makes something I like.
She has a great voice, though the child voice on certain songs was not necessary. I enjoyed the variety on the album.
She has a distinct voice and I thought the instruments she used was solid and unexpected
I thought Bjork was more slow, so I was a little surprised of the electric dance beats. I really enjoyed Human Behavior and One day. I was sitting outside on a beautiful day watching the clouds and that was the perfect setting for Venus as a Boy. Overall though, I don't know if I like her voice and vocal style with the techno sound. I love the voice and the sound separately. But I would love the songs with more folk sound to match her voice better. But she really has a beautiful calmness to her music that I appreciate.
En mi opinión, el mejor álbum de Björk. Claramente, estoy equivocado, porque la exitosa experimentación que la artista islándica mostró a lo largo de su carrera es diga de aplausos, y su aporte a la cultura de la música alternativa es innegable. Y a pesar de todo esto; a pesar de que puedo reconocer la grandeza de la artista, debo admitir, que no me puede gustar. No logro disfrutarla. Quizá soy demasiado tonto, pero su música no es para mí. De todas formas, la recomiendo; si es lo tuyo, bien por ti.
dacht dat dit een band was maar prima album hoor
Some good tracks, with the standout being Human Behaviour for me. Will always suffer a bit from a slightly abrasive vocal style, so I can only enjoy it in small doses.
At first, got kind of whimsical/ chill vibes- like i would listen to it on a rainy day to relax. Towards the end some of them gave a disco/dance vibe that i liked
2nd half saved the first half. Favorite Track: Violently Happy
Legal, vou ouvir mais
Not bad, best Icelandic i heard
Part performance art, part dance album. Bjork really did something unique and interesting with this release. I listen to Human Behavior and Venus as a Boy a few times a year when it comes up in my mix.
Different in a good way. The album covered a range of emotions, and the singer matched that powerfully with her voice. I am impressed by how emotive she was.
3/5
I really wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Definitely preferred the Sugercubes' album, but I possibly need to try this again, but on first listen it's pretty repetitive and fairly grating with it.
I very much respect Björk’s work and sound, but I do not enjoy listening to it very much. She has such a unique sound and voice, so I am glad it is made, but it is not something I would revisit. Not to say it is bad, but it is exactly the sort of thing I would listen through and remember without ever feeling the urge to seek out more.
No. 225/1001 Human Behavior 3/5 Crying 3/5 Venus As a Boy 4/5 There's More To Life Than This 2/5 Like Someone In Love 3/5 Big Time Sensuality 2/5 One Day 3/5 Aeroplane 2/5 Come To Me 3/5 Violently Happy 2/5 The Anchor Song 3/5 Average: 2,73 I expected this record to be more experimental. More so it is a whimsical pop album. Didn't have a lot of songs that really excited me.
Idk this one kinda missed the mark for me. I felt about it the same way I’ve felt about other Bjork songs I’ve heard in the past. They’re weird and sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn’t. Some of the tracks here came off as though she was trying a little too hard to be weird. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but I just found it ok. I probably listened through this album 4 or 5 times seeing if maybe it would start to pay off, but it left me feeling about the same each time. Just meh. 3/5
3+ Stars (9/15)
Play Dead, Violently Happy, One Day
i knew her a little from later work, and a little from her time with the sugarcubes, but this is my first proper introduction. i was surprised at big time sensuality - that sound definitely existed in 1993, but it wasn't at all what i would've expected, based on the rest of the album. it was a fun change of pace. her voice is, of course, super interesting, and the fact her accent comes through so strong only adds to that.
Mildly interesting and inventive.
Björk is, and effectively always has been, one of my favourite artists. But this album has always evaded the ability to fully justify that. Yes, the three albums from her that followed this are undeniably excellent (particularly Post and Vespertine, which I believe to both be masterpieces), but Debut is also often lumped in with those releases, albeit to a slightly less exaggerated degree. I can see why, but I just find it dated in a way that for me, someone born over ten years after this album released, doesn't fully click. The synths sound like music you'd hear on a PS1 demo disc. There's More to Life than This, while the shift during the second verse is genuinely a really cool idea and adds very specific imagery that I don't actually hear in very many songs, just sounds kind of dire outside of that. It feels like parody of 90s dance music, but without any irony. There's also something like Anchor Song, and while Björk would go on to make some really beautiful minimalist closing songs on the next few albums, Anchor Song just feels quite empty. All that being said, Human Behaviour and Venus as a Boy are excellent songs that set an early precedent for Björk's talent as a musician and composer. I know I've spoken about things about this album that I dislike more than like about this album, but I do want to make it clear that for the most part, this album is perfectly fine. It's just difficult to talk about "perfectly fine". This album is very clearly overall more good than bad, but as a debut from an artist whose album streak after this would be consistently 9/10s at worst, it does feel underwhelming. 6.5/10
finally listening to bjork LETSGOOOOOO i didnt know her first album was in the 90s i thought she started out in like the 2010s im so uncultured lord mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people mitski and bjork are two different people i love her voice it scratches my brain so good the album is ok but it is too slow for me my favorite song: crying
Much better than her more recent stuff. Listenable!
A bit more electronic-y than I typically enjoy, but I could see this one growing on me if I give it more listens.
Are all Björk albums one long song? This one and the other one we've had felt that way, but it isn't a bad thing. It was weird and mostly enjoyable which is about what I'm after from Björk
Apparently I gave our previous two Björk albums 3's also, which is a real shock to me. I thought I liked this one more than the previous ones and was planning on giving it a 2.5-3, but I guess I just have to do 3 and then this message. The danciest of the tracks were fun. It's still a lot of Björk.
It switches between not bad and a bit exhausting to listen to.
Wasn't very attracted to this one which was disappointing because I really loved the Sugarcubes album I got a little while ago and I was looking forward to hearing some of her solo work. There's still many of hers yet to go, so I'm looking forward to that. 2.5/5
Interesting album. I enjoyed it. Not something I would go back to though
I enjoyed the whole album. Very complicated and original. I'll listen to it again to understand it better. But I don't know that I will listen to it much more than that.
Very good voice, music is too experimental and weird for my taste. 2.7 stars
Her best album for sure
Este álbum me sorprendió. Me pareció hermosa la voz de Björk y muy arriesgada la propuesta para haber sido un primer álbum. Me gustaron mucho Human Behaviour, Crying y Play Dead
Best Song: Human Behaviour. Björk does a lot of the lilting, rolling, and growling that I find so enchanting about her voice. Worst Song: The Anchor Song. A not altogether bad, jazzy song, but it feels more like a performance than a song. Overall: I'm once again struck by how powerful and diverse Björk's music is. That being said, this album has less passionate, revelatory music when compared to the previous ones on this list, and sometimes degrades to relatively standard club music.
Rock, 1993 -> 3
Interesting album, very different from much other types of music. In general I was not a fan of the dance up-tempo tracks. I think the rest was decent, but those felt out of place and didn't add anything since they weren't really any good. I mostly like Björks singing, it could as well have become too much and too weird, but it stays just on the right side of the line. Very melodic and exciting. I didn't really find any particular song that really stuck with me, which was what I was missing.
closer to 4 probably could i write poetry to this? n
I can take Bjork in small doses
Human Behavior is such a good song. I listened to it on repeat after I finished the album. Bjork's voice is amazing, but unfortunately the stars rarely all align like they do on that song. Lots of meandering with little structure to the rest of the album.
Enjoyed the nostalgia of this - from a time when you had to listen to your CDs over and again. But by god the girl still sounds a few shillings short of a full bag
Bjork é um estilo próprio de música. Não consigo pensar em algo parecido. Inovadora, sem medos, faz como quer e manda ver. Porém, apesar de muitas músicas terem uma sonoridade agradável, não é o tipo de música que eu ouviria do dia-a-dia. Gosto muito de Army of Me, especialmente o contraste com a versão que o Helmet fez para o álbum MOM Music for our Mother Ocean.
Out of all the electropop albums on this list, this one is really solid. The first track is pretty epic and the ones that follow are solid as well. Björk has a really strong singing voice and shows it off really well here. Also the album is a reasonable length which I appreciate. I can't imagine going back to it, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
Un pò particolare....
VIOLENTLY HAPPY
It was better than I was expecting, but it wasn't for me.
Initially I struggled with this album and I would still say it isn't one I plan to just put on and listen to. That said, I thought the album got better as it went on and the music grew on me. Definitely an interesting album.
A bit too electronic at the end
Not her best. But not her worst either.
Very interesting!
Not my mug of milo. Some good sounds, but very eclectic and weird.
I feel like one day Björk is going to click for me but she just hasn’t yet. I think this album is a good starting point though and I may return to it and give it another chance some day
Her voice is super unique and the songs all have different sounds. but still not my cup of tea. i’ll give a 3 tho bc it def belongs on the list and i respect it
Some standout tracks on the album, but would be interested to hear some of her later albums to get more of an appreciation
Конечно альбом Debut by Björk это мастхев, но на кобузе в сд качестве прямо чувствуется потеря в тональности. какой-то запредельный/ватный и отделенный от основной линии музыки бас - не дослушал до конца. ОБЯЗАТЕЛЬНО ПРОСЛУШАТЬ НА ДРУГОМ ИСТОЧНИКЕ!
Although not the best Bjork album, we enjoyed this.
Absolutely timeless until a baseline hits and it’s dated instantly. I like Björk. Her voice is pretty incredible. So individual. But some of her music (most of it?) is objectively difficult to enjoy. Clever for being clevers sake. This isn’t too bad, though. Mostly pretty straight, with nice 90s house low key bangers.
Quirky album, lots of variety. I enjoyed the disco aspects on a lot of the songs. Bjork's voice is definitely unusual and a little off-putting at first but once I got used to it I enjoyed her style. Favorites: Venus as a Boy, One Day
By far the most enjoyable work by Björk that I've come across.
3-
It's alright. The big hits are great and "Venus as a Boy" is a genuine 10/10 song, but it sort of feels like something's missing. It's a bit too generic art pop for me. This was before she went insane and decided that one trillion bleep-bloop sound effects = good music (everything past Vespertine), but also before the Post/Homogenic golden period where she really hit that artistic sweet spot of "just weird enough". And wanna know the evil fucked up thing? This isn't even her debut. She's a liar. Re-release the album where she sings Beatles and Stevie Wonder covers as a 12-year old - Bjonk you coward.
In general I'm not a huge fan of Bjork, but this album is pretty good. She's really a remarkable weirdo, and I love weirdos.
Enjoyed Debut very much
è poco Bjork, ma rimane comunque molto caratteristico, non per questo particolarmente interessante.
Kind of meh to me. Not bad but not something I’m interested in.
This is my first Bjork album and it contains songs in a variety of styles that don't sound too bad. Some songs are calm and some songs are upbeat.
Hard to rate this on one listen (though have listened many times). Entirely enjoyable, perplexing, and otherworldly. 3.5
Björk on the road to Björkdom. A solid Debut.
Thought I'd never heard a bjork song before, only to be extremely familiar with Venus as a Boy from the chill playlist I listen to on repeat.
She's got a cool voice. Not my type of music though.
This is better than the other 2 Bjork albums this site has given me. Being her debut, a lot of it sounds like the Sugarcubes, who I liked a lot. I gave Medulla 3 stars, but I can't go to 4 with this one.
I like Bjork and this album is no exception.
It's Bjork. You either love her or hate her. I fall in the latter camp. I see why this is on the Must Listen to list, though. It is to ensure we get exposure to the best of every kind of genre, or non-genre, out there. Bjork is a non-genre, which means I need to be completely out of my mind to enjoy her. I'm not, so she gets a three for being really good at what she does. (She's probably the only one doing what she does).
Cool album but I couldn't listen to it regular
I thought this album was just okay it had some interesting melodies and it is definitely the perfect album for a club night but I just didn’t really connect to it. That’s not saying it’s bad but I think it’s just average.
Good debut
Very Chill
I had only known Björk via parody but man that parody was on point. I feel this is the music of a girl who would intimidate me in high school half because she's alluring and unique and half because I'm just so genuinely confused as to what's going on. This is odd but makes sense to be on the list.
Interesting for sure, inoffensive, tho I understand some are put off by her vocals. I don't think I will be convinced that this belongs on the list. I like what's happening, but I'm not of fan of these synths, I enjoy her voice. Okay, I changed my mind, this belongs. But still a 3 for me.
I like this, but don't connect to it as much as I had hoped. Very good album, but not doing quite enough for a four from me.
i like the way the boopy sounds feel in my brain if that makes sense
I like Bjork, but I like her in small doses.
We used to own the Sugarcubes debut album, so I'm very familiar with Björk's vocal sound, but have never listened to any of her solo albums. I guess Debut is the right one to start with. Most of the album is too electronic and experimental for me.
I liked this album, but didn't love it. Several of the songs started to click in for me on my 3rd listen, but it generally felt like a less fully relaxed version of Kate bush. The harp work, however, was awesome.
Some good, lots of meh
Mmmm, ok I guess
I liked this album some, kind of different 3 stars
Realized that I remember this album so fondly partly because of 1) how much 'Human Behavior' is still such a great song, and 2) my general love of Bjork. Otherwise, was shocked to find how thoroughly 90s a lot of this sounds, even with Bjork's always amazing vocals - and doesn't necessarily hold up all that well. To my ears, Bjork really let go of trends with Post, Homogenic and Vespertine, while staying within the parameters of typical song structure - (before she got really esoteric & jettisoned things like instruments entirely) and those 3 albums are much stronger for it. This one, while good, didn't really stand the test of time.
A very unique voice, that's for real. Besides of that i didn't find anything that makes this album special, but it good for a debut album.
First listen Saved 5/11 Top track: Venus as a Boy
Bjork has a hauntingly beautiful voice. She makes odd songs. They are not all pretty - some are even uncomfortable. Some are strikingly beautiful: melodic, rich, and well orchestrated. This album ranges from incredible songs, to the odd side of avant-garde. It is certainly memorable, and interesting, but may not be great...
Mellow
Iceland’s very own was far ahead of her time in 1993. Probably too far ahead, but nonetheless this record still carry’s its own weight in 2024 with songs like “Venus as a boy” and “human behaviour”. Listening through this album at times I felt like I was in a grimly lit back room of European warehouse waiting for an interaction with a Slovenian drug lord, and yet at other times I was just on the other side of that warehouse in an early 90s dance club dancing my worries away high on mescaline. Either way, this album is a bit of an anomaly for me. Not quite 4 stars because of its weirdness, but not quite 3 stars because it’s got these pockets of opal and excellence. 3.5/5 if I could vote it, I would
I liked this better than I thought I would. Eclectic and quirky with some interesting lyrics, it was a fun listen. I would listen to it again. Bright spots..."Come to Me" and "Violently Happy".
listened to again vastly artistic and still hard to listen to sometimes due to asynchronous composition techniques
Musik meist ok, Gesang nervt schnell
It’s cool
it is okay i need to give it more listens but sounds interesting
I like it but and its very replayable.
some strange stuff, couple jams. not too bad. rating system: 1- really bad 2- meh/boring 3- good 4- pretty good 5- all time
Fun but also kind of boring at times.
It's great for sure, but nothing really exciting there. Bjork would do really better in the future.
How many times have I really wanted to like Bjork...more than I can remember for sure. While this album is perfectly fine, it doesn't really strike me as being all important the way it is typically revered. 3/5
We reach the end of the list’s Björk. Or do we?? Some debuts are hard to top. Some bands and musicians come out of the gates with the fire and inspiration of youth, and even beyond a sophomore slump can never quite find that peak again. Björk’s “Debut” isn’t her peak, though. It’s a great start for an artist clearly willing to pursue bold experimentation, but much of “Debut” is oddly too safe. She took her unique voice and wrapped it in electronica, but as daring as her vocals might be, the house beats push no envelopes. Those vocals are best when they really crest and break loose, and I wished for more of that here. But “Debut” was only Björk’s debut as a solo artist. I had forgotten that, but something here reminded me to look up where she got her start - with the pop rock band Sugarcubes. I checked out a couple songs, and was immediately taken by the pairing of Björk’s voice with a rock background. So I checked the list, and it turns out we are not at the end of the list’s Björk - the Sugarcubes' debut awaits us.
Intriguing. Evocative. Boundary busting. Perplexing. All things Björk.
Yayyyyy Bjork!! I never owned this album but I am definitely familiar with 3 songs on here. I'm excited to hear this all the way through.
Largely a dance/techno album but it has some unexpected avant garde jazzy flourishes.
not too bad. Not really my type of jam.
I’m getting confused by Bjork. Before the 1,001 albums list I just dismissed her as a lunatic. However, this is the 2nd album so far in the list and I found lots I really like. Maybe the radio only really played the whacky silly pop tracks and that built up an intolerance. I’ve given this a second listen today and now have a slimmed down 6 track version of the album I’ll keep and listen to again. Gone are the nonsense tracks that irritate me and I’m left with a decent half hour of great music. ‘Crying’ and ‘One Day’ are the standouts, but some lovely mood, harmonies and percussion throughout. I have to give it a 3 star, as I’ve culled half of the album, but I’m really happy with the bit I’ve got left!
Great debut solo album. A low 3.
My relationship with Björk's debut is complicated. I like 'Human Behaviour', 'Venus as a Boy', 'Big Time Sensuality', and 'Violently Happy', but it's just really disjointed. Please enjoy the following excerpt from an equally disjointed review I wrote in 2012 (fed through Google translate): "All in all, the first 3 tracks promise very well for the album, and are fantastic building blocks for an innovative album. Unfortunately, one has to admit that the Icelandic singer had not yet put the 80s behind her in 1993. "There's More To Life Than This" is a completely unsuccessful terrible number. Without edge, with small-philosophical text and with a cutting vocal, the number tears the whole glossy picture apart. The number stinks far away of the 80s and disco music, which certainly does not suit Björk. The catastrophe is followed by "Like Someone In Love", which is possibly the most boring song ever played on the harp. Here, too, the idea falls completely to the ground. Well, the album is 12 tracks long, and with tracks like "Big Time Sensuality" and "Violently Happy" Björk proves that she can easily merge genres and bring aspects of 80s happy-dance music to the album. Here one must be frustrated and wonder why many of the album's songs do not show this. Here, however, praise must be given to producer Nellee Hooper for having placed the strong tracks spread over the entirety of the album - there is always a track to look forward to, right to the end. "Play Dead" is one of the best remixes on a studio album, and purely in terms of popularity, parallels can be drawn to "Left Hand Suzuki Method" on "Gorillaz". I really wanted to like the album, and I've really enjoyed a handful of the tracks on it. Unfortunately, the rest are simply so terrible that one can only rejoice that Björk has clearly become more artistically critical of her own material and now manages to create thoroughly solid albums like "Biophilia". Had the album been an EP of 5 songs, it would have received 6/6. Unfortunately, there is too much stuff, and genre confusion and unworked tracks lead to a boring experience."
There’s a lot to love. There’s a lot to hate. Björk is a divisive artist as it is, but her debut, Debut, is not nearly as cohesive as some of her later excellent efforts. There’s even a few truly terrible songs on this one - I’ll let you guess which one is objectively the worst. You’ll know.
- Engulfs me for two tracks then loses me for two tracks. Repeat. - "Venus as a Boy" stands out and I am very entranced by the classic feel of "Like Someone in Love." - Not a fan of her British dance/electronic hits. Just not my thing.
This is my second Björk album, and I'm still not sure I like her. I appreciate her work for sure, its super interesting and unique. But do I enjoy listening to it? I don't know. I expect its an acquired taste. This earlier album was definitely more enjoyable than the last one I got. More electronica influence here. Her voice is just, jarring? Strange? I don't know. Glad to have listened, not sure I'd choose to put this on again.
I actually own a different (and much later) Bjork album, and I'm impressed at how distinctive and consistent her style and sound has been, as well as those *wild* outfits. I always feel like she took The Sugarcubes to her logical conclusion, and then just started an infinite number of variations of that theme. For me, her sound has always been a bit more background music than I'm sure she'd prefer, but I *will* say that the few videos I've seen of some of her more recent songs are amazing productions in themselves. With this album, though, there weren't too many songs that really hooked me, and a few that I found pretty grating ("Like Someone in Love" an exemplar).
I can see how it’s good but not for me
Started strong. Like how eclectic it was. Latter part of the album was too eurobeat-y for me. I liked the last song though.
Interesting. I liked the first half and lost my weird appreciation a little on the back half
Bedre end forventet, men jeg skal lige bruge noget mere tid til at lære at snuppe hendes stemme.
Ok
Good, but doesn't grip me as much as her next few albums.
I was a huge Sugarcubes fan. Bjork has a very unique and intoxicating voice. I’ll rate this at the midway point because it’s her first solo album and I feel she gets better after this one.
At first, I thought I would not like experimental Icelandic pop, but it turns out I quite enjoyed it
High school years and this artist is definitely someone I remember listening to. Listening back now, I somewhat question my tastes. With that being said, it’s not terrible. She’s a pretty interesting artist.
She has an interesting sound
Heard of Bjork as a quirky artist. Alternative album from 1993. 3 so far.
3 My first real foray into Björk’s music, an artist that I’m aware is critically acclaimed and that I’m guessing we haven’t seen the last of on this list. I’m not sure if her debut (helpfully titled “Debut”) is the best place for a newbie to start, but given it made a list of 1001 best albums, it shouldn’t be a bad place, right? I will say, for 1993, the style of electronic pop music on this album definitely feels ahead of its time, production-wise especially - if I didn’t know any better, I probably would have guessed this came out in the 2000s (or hell, maybe even today). That being said, I’ve never been a huge fan of that era’s style of pop music, and while I do think Björk does it a lot better than a lot of her contemporaries (and even those that followed), it’s still not quite enjoyable enough to have me feeling stronger than a 3/5. Honestly, what mostly makes the album for me are the vocals - I genuinely think Björk has a great voice and that it carries a lot of the music, though I may be biased because I found it incredibly similar to that of another mononymous female vocalist and solo artist whom I happen to adore - Mitski. That’s pretty high praise from me given that I think Mitski has one of the most beautiful voices in music, though I will say, while being perhaps a touch more technically proficient, I don’t think Björk has quite the same level of personality or distinction to hers (as an aside, if you’re like me and like Björk’s voice but don’t love the sound of this album, I recommend giving her former group, The Sugarcubes a listen). Song-wise, there wasn’t a ton that stood out to me here. Human Behavior is a solid opener and probably the best song on the album, but it’s quickly followed up by the cheesy and overly cutesy Venus as a Boy. After that, the only real highlight was Violently Happy, which I’ll admit has a catchy chorus to it, but that one is immediately followed up by an absolute abomination of a closer in The Anchor Song. Jesus, that song is grating - how can anyone seriously give this album a 5 with that crap on it? I’m definitely curious to check out more of her work, but I’m not impressed by the debut.
I like Bjork.
I didn't think I would enjoy this. I remembered her being Yoko Ono-esque vocalization over that airy pop electronica. While the latter was true, the vocals were odd but pleasant and accessible for a new listener.
What a different voice! I love that she uses electronica, then a harp. Her voice is high in the mix and I like that. The chords and vocals are pretty dissonant at times, a little disconcerting, but she pulls it together. Cool album! Don't think I could listen to it a lot though. Her vocals are much the same from song to song, with a limited range mostly then big leaps. Oh wait, Come to Me has a different melody! An accordion on the Anchor song! A flutey organ on Atlantic. The orchestral background on Play Dead! There's no doubt she did what she wanted on this album. It wasn't made with money as the objective.
Sometimes ok, sometimes quirkily interesting, sometimes outright bizarre, and never my style. I give it an average rating just because it was vocally unique enough to warrant acknowledgement.
Ethereal pop. I listened a full time through and it didn't catch my attention much.
I can see why the artists like it. But so so.
Unique for sure.
If could give a 3.5 I would! Solid album but I don’t understand the hype!
infectious dance music with alluring and soothing vocals. very different, but pleasing to the ears.
This album is all vibes. Favorite track was violently happy.
Some interesting songs 3/5
Pretty solid album. Loved the vocals on this one. Just wished the songs as an overall were better. Only one that stood out to me is Venus as a boy
OK...not something I would keep in my library
Loved the weird vibe but just don’t love her voice
This sounds so 90’s lol. Not a bad thing, just not used to it. Would give it another listen.
Kinda cool, kinda weird
Haat/liefde relatie met haar stem. Enorm unieke muzikante, maar soms klinkt ze dus vals. Vond haar versie van “Like Someone In Love” heel mooi. Kon ook die disco invloeden waarderen en nummers als “Venus As A Boy”.
I am a big Bjork fan so it was fun to listen to her debut album. It definitely sounds very 90's and not her fully formed self. Good reminder to listen to some of her other stuff.
Erikoista, eli Björkkiä. Tää oli kyllä parempi levy kuin aikaisemmin kuunneltu. Ehkä jopa hyviä kappaleita. Silti en oikein tykkää Björkin avant garde laulutyylistä. Parhaat: Come To Me, Play Dead, Big Time Sensuality
Quirky, with a mesmirising voice. My favourite track is "Violently Happy", but I also like "Venus as a Boy", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Play Dead".
Je préfère les sons variés que ce qu'elle chante. Overall, bon album dans l'ensemble de l'oeuvre, belel diversité.
It was ok, I could take it or leave it. Music was repetitive. Seemed like good dance music.
Ok.
My previous experience of Bjork was 'Army of Me' 👍, 'It's Oh So Quiet' 🤷♂️ and that in general, I found her a bit strange. When I got this recommendation it was not one I was excited about listening to, but trusting the process I put it on. When the first track came on, 'Human Behaviour', it immediately put me in mind of 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane, which I like, so it gave me an in to the album. After that, I was more open to listening. I was pleasently surprised that yes I actually knew one of the tracks, 'Big Time Sensuality', and by the end of the album I had enjoyed the whole thing. She has some amazing vocal control in places and a very distinct voice. Despite this, I am not going to race out and put Bjork on again, but more open to listening to her music when it shows up.
Mooie stem. Muziek is mooi. Zang is iets minder. Niet melodieus genoeg. Wel een mysterieuze vibe.
* Human Behavior took a bit to grow on me. Those voice cracks/whatever they're called are lovely. Can see this being used in a show like Charmed. * The instrumentation in the first 30 seconds of Crying reminds me of something specific but can't quite put my finger on it. Pops up noticeably again around the 1:10 mark. Maybe retro video games or something? Further reflection, I also envision a crowded public space, like a mall or something. * While listening to Like Someone in Love, I can't help feeling like I'm walking around Paris, France during a light snowstorm. * Love the way she says the line "The hardcore and the gentle" in Big Time Sensuality, especially the latter times. * One Day starting out with a very outer spacey vibe. * Kingdom Hearts Deep Jungle vibes from that background beat in Aeroplane * For some reason, the first lines of Come to Me brought memories of Sarah Jessica Parker singing Come Little Children in Hocus Pocus. * The moment around 2:40 in Violently Happy almost sounds like a record skipping. The background beat also reminds me of a scene in Scooby Doo Cyber Chase * Play Dead might just be the most well rounded song of the bunch. Fitting it comes at the end I guess. * Overall, very unique style to her songs. Didn't expect to enjoy the album as much as I did, but her voice really grew on me over time. -- Album Rankings -- 1. Play Dead 2. There's More to Life Than This 3. Human Behavior 4. Like Someone in Love 5. Venus as a Boy 6. Big Time Sensuality 7. Crying 8. Aeroplane 9. The Anchor Song 10. One Day 11. Come to Me 12. Violently Happy
Interesting. Nice voice.
I enjoyed this album. it kept me engaged with cool arrangements, instrumentation, and production. Standout tracks: Play Dead, Crying, Venus As a Boy, There Is More To Life Than This
Not the usual stuff I listen to, but very interesting in and of itself and as "background music." Will require more listens to better appreciate. Scoring with three stars for now.
"I changed my mind. I like her voice... it's just sort of annoying to me." -Six year old
Funky aparte muziek, maar zou t niet gauw opnieuw opzetten
I just don't gjet it
Album sounds like my brain in a candy store. Excited, bubbly, fun, colorful....with hints of anxiety. I enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised.
pretty good. Was a lot different than I was expecting. She was very progressive for her time, some songs sounded like they were made in the last few years and a lot of dance tracks
Liked it 3.5/5
After the first few songs I lost interest in the music. Couldn't keep listening.
Rating: soft 6/10 A mix of smooth Jazz, dance music and traditional percussion instruments all thrown together on a casio keyboard, not bad just not for me "Human behaviour" is the least convincing argument that Bjork isnt an alien of some sort "Crying" reminds me of the soundtrack to streets of rage Highlights - Big Time Sensuality, The Anchor Song, Crying
Angry club electro-punk. I liked it but probably won’t listen again.
I can see why it’s so highly regarded but it’s not for me. Sometimes it feels like it’s trying too hard to be different but from everything I’ve learned about Björk I doubt that’s the case
1st Listen at work Not bad but not my cup of tea, can see where this album inspired future artist but outside of a few standout tracks didn’t really do it for me. 2nd lesson Enjoyed more, again appreciate it for how much this album changed the game.
Soooooo…don’t know how to rate this one. I don’t know much about Bjork besides It’s So Quiet which, now hearing this album, feels very mainstream. What will say that for a record that came out in 1993 to sound so individual and unique that in 2024 it still provokes a “what. the. f***. Is this” and you just strap in, Bjork takes the wheel and drives you down a high way of a very wild, weird world.
"Human Behavior" is a classic. The rest of the album's decent, but didn't blow my mind. Let's call it 3.5 stars.
Interesting album. Musically it's very out there, a lot of dissonance between Bjorks singing and the instrumentation, but over-all it's a pleasant listen. Probably great on some shrooms or something like that, although I dunno how I would deal with dissonance when tripping :D
Meh
My Icelandic Queen!
Human Behavior - 4 Crying - 3 Venus as a Boy - 3 There is More to Life Than This - 3 Like Someone in Love - 2 Big Time Sensuality - 2 One Day - 2 Aeroplane - 2 Come to Me - 3 Violently Happy - 3 The Anchor Song - 2 Play Dead - 3
1. Human behavior- 4 2. Crying - 4 3. Venys as a boy e - 2 4. More to life- 4 5. Like someone in love- 2 6. Big time sensuality- 3 7. One day - 2 8. Aeroplane- 3 9. Come to me - 5 10. Violently happy - 3 11. The anchor song - 2 3.09
Gostei...álbum ótimo de ouvir trabalhando
Not nearly as difficult to appreciate as I imagined it would be. On the contrary, it was immediately evident that this was a special talent confidently showcasing herself and band. Challenging, yes, at times. But not at all in the way I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it.
Super unique voice incredibly artsy! I can see why she is on the list for being influential.
Her voice is so unique.
Loved it
Started out so strong. But then her voice became a little grating by the end. First 3 songs are bangers though.
Not as good as the following three albums but a great start, packed with personality and vocal skills. (I don't like numeric ratings, I just give 3 to anyone)
ikea furniture mf
Té un estil raro de collons però se m'ha fet bastant agradable d'escoltar. Al final sí que se m'ha fet una mica repetitiva però per escoltar-la de tant en tant m'ha agradat prou. No és gens el tipus de música que acostumo a escoltar, però bé.
Three songs in and my take so far is: David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Yoko Ono had a love child and the B-52’s adopted her. Playfully quirky and distinctively different.
Kann man gut nebenbei hören, für einen entspannten Abend geeignet.
Her ikke lige lyttet færdig endnu, så får en midter scorer.
2.5 stars. Weird and disjointed. Enough pop to keep the strange avant-garde listenable. Her voice is the worst part, singing is not her forte. Standout is "Venus As a Boy" which has a pretty string and ethereal electronica compliment.
It was cool. Her voice is def eerie but I liked some of the songs . Nothing life changing.
50/100 Based on this scale: 1 star - 0 to 19 2 stars - 20 to 39 3 stars - 40 to 59 4 stars - 60 to 79 5 stars - 80 to 100 I wasn't sure about how I felt about Bjork's music when I first heard it in the 90s and today, I'm still not sure. Interesting compositions that are often cleverly delivered, but as a listener, I have to ask myself if it does anything for me, beside making me say "oh, that part was pretty cool" every once in a while. It's one of those things I can enjoy on some level if it's on, but I can't picture myself listening to her album on purpose.
6.5/10
It’s alright, i forgot how much Venus as a Boy and Big Time Sensuality were played back in the day. Every DJ in the 90’s had a version of Big Time Sensuality.
1. human behavior - 1.5 2. crying - 1 3. venuz az a boy - 2 4. there iz more to life than thiz - 1 5. like zomeone in love - 5 6. big time zenzuality - 1 7. one day - 1.5 8. aeroplane - 1 9. come to me - 1 10 violently happy - 1 11. the anchor zong - 1.5 12. play dead - 1
This was surprising. I am not too familiar with Bjork’s music and this was the first time I have ever intently listened to it. I liked this more than I would have thought. Her vocals are truly something special. 3.5/5 Might listen again
Honestly me giving Bjork a 3 is a bigger deal than other albums getting a 5
Only liked a couple of songs from this album from Björk. Very alternative and unique pop sound. Favorite Song(s): "Play Dead", "There is More to Life Than This", "Human Behavior"
Björk is such an interesting artist and is basically in her own genre. Love that. Just not sure if I’ll ever really feel like revisiting this specific project.
I wasn't surprised that I really didn't like a few of these songs, but I was surprised that many of them were decent and dare I say jammy. Rating 3.4 stars rounded to 3.
Björk makes me feel what folks who didn't study contemporary art feel when looking at it- I have no idea what this is, I don't think I like it, but I feel like I think it's important and there are clearly lots of people who get it, so I will just smile and move on. Decent background music. I think I need drugs to get it, though. Update: the more I listen to this the more I think I like it. I think I'm getting it.
Not really my type of music, but some of it was cool
:-)
Good listen if you’re feeling weird
first time listening to bjork, i believe. initial thoughts: not really a fan, but will push through the listening session because hopefully i at least like one track! update: "venus as a boy" is growing on me. added it to the 1001 playlist. update: i enjoyed the last track "play dead" the most. always a big fan of an orchestra added to the production. the strings sounded really cool and the brass part was a nice touch.
Yeah, I'm not liking this one. It's a bit obnoxiously pop-esque and loud in places. Plus, the music seems kinda empty and generic. I'm not getting anything genuine from the lyrics. I also don't like the artist's voice that much. She gets a little screechy at time. But maybe that's just me.
Saying her name is more fun than listen to her music. Bjork! At least - that's what I thought. After listening to this, I still don't think I'd say I'm a fan, but she has a unique style and a really interesting voice. It's different in a good way.
Not really my thing but interesting
Innovative and avant-garde. Bjork truly has her own sound, unlike anything else out there.
Very alt
Not bad but not necessarily my genre. I don't listen to a lot of dance music.
J'ai aimé plus qu ej ene le pensais. Ca mêle beacuop de style et ca voix est reconnaissable entre beaucoup. Ca se detache de beaucoup d'artiste qui on sortit un album en meme temps. C'est quelque chose d'apart. 3.75
Absolute banger
Congrats to Björk on her debut, hope she makes it
This album was super different. When I fistt heard her stuff I was not a fan. She's slowly growing on me.
At times it made me go 🥴 and others it made me go 🤔 and sometimes it was 🤠 so overall it’s a 😏
Was ok.
More 90's sound than I remembered. Violently Happy is a vibe. Might need a few more listens
Favorite Tracks: Human Behavior, Venus as a Boy, Big Time Sensuality, Come to Me, Violently Happy
Quirky electro pop that lives or dies on her pixie childlike voice really. I'm ok with it mostly and it is unmistakable. I prefer the upbeat ones.
Good album. I dont care for much Bjork but this will do
Interesting. I hadn't heard this one before. It's much poppier than her others that I've listened to.
Liked it more than the other Bjork album but still quite average expect for a few songs imo
1. Human Behaviour - definitely an interesting song...i like the music, i don't get the purpose of having gibberish sections? 2. Crying - got a really cool sound, and pretty boppy. I don't know why but the verses were giving me Lorde. 3. Venus as a Boy - I did not like this song very much. 4. There’s More to Life Than This - the music of this song is really boppy, it's giving like dance music, so that's cool. I did not like how after the first chorus it lost the instrumental and became kinda acapella? 5. Like Someone in Love - pretty ballady so didn't love it as the vocals were not it for me. 6. Big Time Sensuality - again the music is pretty poppy. it's like dance music. 7. One Day - it's got an interesting sound but not my favourite. Goes way too long imo. 8. Aeroplane - I can’t get over her weird vocal style tbh. 9. Come to Me - nice vibe and I really liked the music. 10. Violently Happy - interesting vocal effect. Again like the music. 11. The Anchor Song - this one is kinda jazzy not loving it and it doesn’t fit great in the album imo. 12. Play Dead - now this is a bop! Finally I feel like the music matches the tone of singing, the others had a weird juxtaposition. Overall, I didn’t mind it and it’s quite cool that she uses house and electronic elements but I also just don’t love her vocal style and her lyrics don’t really resonate with me. Also hot take she kinda reminds me of Lorde…
Bjork is what I would call an acquired taste. It’s certainly not a bad album but also probably not an album for my morning commute. The “hits” from the album: Human Behavior, Big Time Sensuality, and The Anchor song are all decent tunes. Some of the other songs sort of just blend in and sound like one of these theee songs’ outtakes
What the what?!? Two Bjork-bums in a row? This shit’s getting crazy now. Also, I’m glad they didn’t do this with Kid Rock or we’d probably have all just up and quit. Definitely liked this Bjork better than the other Bjork; where that one Bjorked a little too hard to the left, I think this one Bjorks a bit more down the middle, which I guess is where my Bjork-taste Bjorks most Bjorkably. Love “Human Behaviour” and always have. “Big Time Sensuality,” like several songs here seems to suffer from instrumentation/beats that are showing their age in a way that feels so much safer than the vocals on top of them. “Anchor” was new to me and a nice discovery. Can see her closing the album as if to say “This is where I’ll be heading in the future,” but more importantly it was just a lush, pretty song. It’s still a three star package to me, but if there’s more Bjork to be had I’m a bit more hopeful that one of these things is going to make a mark on me.
Favorite tracks were 1,3,4,10
Too much alter for me
it was fine best song: crying (by a lot)
I can think of no scenarios where I would play this music. It’s talented, it’s unique, it’s also free form and hard to absorb. The singing style is controlled chaos, lots yelling and and chorus chants, a bit tribal. The music mixes 90s flair and r&B, a bit like a Casio keyboards backing tracks.
I got Medúlla 102 albums ago and really quite enjoyed it's oddness. I was expecting this to be more strange as well - not necessarily at that level. But it seemed surprisingly conventional and, frankly, a little bit (just a little) boring. Perhaps I was just expecting something that I had no right to expect. But I doubt I'll listen to this one again.
Nice pop/electro-y. A female David Bowie, good background songs
Forst song is stardew valley core
Very weird but interesting voice
Better than. I thought
ok
Much better than other electronica I’ve listened to. Love her voice and melodies
There is a certain nostalgia to the album. It has that very 90s feel, but Bjork's song craft often elevates the songs in different moments. There are many humdrum passages followed by dramatic moments of beauty. A great debut indeed.
I know very little of Bjork (dont forget the umlaut!) nor the electronic pop (House?) genre. However, I enjoyed the album nonetheless I could get into this genre a bit more for sure after listening to this album, solid focus music. It's basically an intense video game soundtrack with a singer with a cute/powerful voice on top!
fine album to listen to while cooking dinner. Though I don’t think I’ll ever listen to it again. Not my jam.
Don't stick your dick in crazy. Somehow I'm still interested in her other albums
Human Behaviour didn't do much for me, but I can dig the hook on Crying. This is a really tame Bjork album by the standards of her others, with things being relatively straightforward beats and recognizable song structures. You can see the start of her expiramentation with the medium, but its just a glimpse. The back half of the album is kinda stale. Violently Happy is probably my favorite track on the album, but the rest of it i dont care either way.
Meerdere keren geluisterd, maar het beklijft niet. De blije jaren negentig-beatjes passen niet echt bij dat bijzondere stemgeluid. Naja, vooruit, het is nog wel te luisteren.
Een kunstig plaatje. Nadeel van kunst is. Het moet je grijpen. En dat doen sommige nummers zeker niet (The Anchor Song). Tegelijk staan er ook een paar nummers op die prima passen in het begin van de jaren '90 (Violently Happy). Het album hinkt wat op twee gedachten. Inmiddels de tweede plaat van Björk. Op basis daarvan trek ik de conclusie dat je Björk per nummer moet luisteren. Een album is simpelweg teveel.
Generally kinda weird but not awful
I rather liked some of this record. It certainly seems a lot less experimental (read: unpleasantly odd) than some of her other records.
Iceland's queen, and most famous artist. She is like the definition of art pop in both a positive and negative way. Overall this is an interesting album because she is willing to be really weird with how she sings and the production. It's not the most experimental thing I have listened to, but it is still a deviation from the cookie-cutter pop that gets shat out even in the 90s. It is interesting to think how this would sound with more modern production. Overall not bad, but not really my vibe. A solid 3/5
sært ass, men gøy
Calling your debut solo album, ‘Debut’, cheek or laziness? At least it is understandable: you ever tried ordering a vespertine in a brasserie? The chef came out to tell me to fuck off. Much is too twee for me, the irony paper thin - ‘Like Someone In Love’ is cack handed - and a lot of it is boring, Park Lane cocktail lounge music, but I like the hits more than I did back then. Massive Attack at their most violently beige are a fair comparison.
Eclectic as Bjork tends to be, there were songs on this I really liked (particularly the last one) and songs on this that were awful, particularly the very '90s' ones that sounded like spice girls b sides. Always happy to listen to a Bjork album once, guaranteed to be interesting. Just too all over the place to become a proper fan.
Actually listened to this album for the first time in the last couple of years. She's definitely interesting, you can't deny that. I do like some of the tracks on this, particularly Venus as a boy and big time sensuality. Not sure I'd really choose to listen to it again, bit I don't dislike it
Fun and unique, sounds really good but hard to listen to all day
This was interesting, I like her voice, a few songs I already knew and a few that passed by in a dreamlike way. I might be in a Bjork mood in the future and listen again. Three stars.
Strangely good
A good pop album that I didn't think I would like. Very little listening of Bjork before this. 3/5
Once again I'm still fine with Bjork even though it's not my thing but this one was admittedly more dull and straightforward than the other albums I've gotten so far. It makes sense because it's her solo debut but still...I want the weirdness. However, her vocals and even the basic instrumentals are still unique enough to carry it to a low three I think.
I don't know what it is about Bjork. I like individual songs of hers quite a bit. Human Behavior is an absolute favorite of mine, and on paper she's everything I should like, well crafted compositions, sonically adventurous, but I just find myself zoning out on her when I try to listen to a whole album.
Young me would have HATED this album because of Björks style of singing. But I've grown to like her sound. Definitely unique and it's pretty interesting.
Play Dead was one of my favorite songs on the album. Funny how the album review described this as a somewhat poorly-received avant garde album, yet the music and style fits right in to the musical landscape today. Influential indeed, then!
Icelandic pop. Bjork’s voice always a bit too high, but not as terrible as I expected.
Interesting songs. After a few listens, I still find that Björk's music is not for me.
I think this will warrant further listens. Love the first track. Many of the rest I found a little challenging. I need to adapt to the cadences of Ms Gudmundsdottir's voice.
Well I have to say that I enjoyed this better than the last one. It wasn’t bad at all. 3*
Björk is best understood when stoned.
First bjork album I didn’t want to stop listening to, good stuff here
Kinda like a Scandinavian Lorde. Overall alright I just wish it didn’t sound like she was giving birth to the words as much.
I can only imagine what it was like to experience this album back in 1993. There was really just nothing else like this in music that was even remotely mainstream enough to reach American listeners. This album has a very unique and eclectic sound; it dares to be different and finds multiple ways to accomplish that. Having not heard Bjork's Debut before, I am both surprised and not surprised to find that she already had a sense of herself as a recording artist. While she has certainly tried many different things musically across time, her visceral, often raw, often penetrating vocals have been a constant. And the music itself is full of experimental qualities, each track with its own intriguing layers. Speaking of her quality for experimentation, there is a huge amount of diversity just within this album. While this is very generally a form of electronic art pop, it's tough to confine what she's doing here, as she is really all over the place (in a good way).
L’instru est super, mais j’aime pas trop comment sa voix est mixé dans les chansons
Some interesting parts, but it doesn't seem to have aged particularly well, maybe?
Human behaviour has always been a favorite of mine for the synths or electronica. She always looks bat shit crazy and that's mysterious.