1001 Albums Summary

A breathtaking soundtrack. An obvious 70s Italian and French soul/funk influence exists throughout the album. The combination of everything from the sound palette to the chord progressions and mixing of the drums will make you do a double take at the release date of the album. The opening track, Playground Love, as well as Highschool Lover both sound like something out of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; they have a very romantic, cozy, and melancholic sound–an undefeatable combination. The production on these two tracks manages to sound indie and mainstream at the same time.

As soon as I hit play on Bjork’s Debut album, I fell in love with “Human Behaviour,” a hit-song in which her adorable, yet mighty voice hovers flawlessly over a hypnotic, war-like rhythm. The way she paints walls of gibberish vocals throughout the track is also vaguely reminiscent of Elizabeth Fraser’s (Cocteau Twins) signature singing style. The rest of the album is mostly dance/techno music that I found to be average aside from “Venus as a Boy” and “Like Someone in Love,” which we’re more memorable, having more gentle, verdant compositions. I also noticed that the stringed instrument at 0:50 of “Venus as a Boy” has some Indian influence in the way it is played, which may be the reason for my attraction to the song. Dance is one of my least favorite art forms. However, dance music–especially songs similar to the ones found on this album–I do not mind every now and then. I went into this album not knowing what to expect and came out wanting to be friends with Bjork.