Björk
Nearly a decade after landing on alternative pop's menu as front woman of the Sugarcubes, Björk, with her piercing wail and unpeggable pop tunes, remains an acquired taste. Regardless, her quirky flavor is clearly catching on. The Icelandic sprite's '93 solo Debut went gold, and last year Madonna chose a Björk co-composition as the title tune of her Bedtime Stories CD.
But budding mainstream acceptance hasn't brought Björk, 29, any closer to convention. Her hooks still hang in unlikely places—one dangles from a harp riff on "Cover Me"—and her tentative way of phrasing makes it seem as if she's making up lines like "I suck my thumb in remembrance of you" as she goes along. "Isobel" punctuates its grand, cinematic sweep with galloping rhythm, while "Headphones" features ambient noises looming in and out of earshot that recreate the Walkman-listening experience. Post really works its seriously strange stuff, though, with "Modern Things," a hypnotic techno track that finds Björk keeping her cool detachment while oozing an offbeat and enchanting soulfulness. (Elektra)
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