Björk has always been one of those larger than life artists. She has been making music since she was young, has released three albums with her band The Sugarcubes alongside eight solo albums since 1993. She is a mother, an award-winning actress, was briefly aligned with the anarchist Crass Collective and can rock a hairdo that would make Marge Simpson’s hairdresser’s head spin.
The Icelandic singer/songwriter’s newest album, “Vulnicura,” was officially released Jan. 20. However, if all had gone as planned, you would not even be reading this review right now.
With more than a three year gap between Björk’s newest album and her 2011 album, “Biophilia,” there had been a lot of anticipation growing around the release of “Vulnicura.” The album made it on “most anticipated albums of 2015” lists all around the blogosphere, and in early January, it was announced that “Vulnicura” would be released sometime in March, featuring heavy collaborations with dark electronic artist The Haxan Cloack and Venezuelan producer Arca.
Shortly after that announcement, Jan. 18, the album was leaked online. In response to the album leaking two months before the intended release date, Björk’s record label, One Little Indian, went ahead and released the album digitally two days later.
Fans of Björk rejoiced: Christmas had come early (or maybe it had come twice). The album harkened back to the trip-hop sounds that put Björk on the map in the ‘90s, while still refining the sound developed in her past two albums, “Biophilia” and “Volta.”
The influence of Björk’s two collaborators give a definitive new voice to her sound. The Haxan Cloaks’ influence is especially apparent on the emotionally daunting song, “Family.” At times, the album slips into some particularly experimental sections. “The History of Touches” sounds like it was ripped straight from the page of experimental electronic artists Oneohtrix Point Never’s book, and the final track on the album, “Quicksand,” sounds like it could be a nod to the punk/hip-hop group Death Grips, whose newest album, “Niggas on the Moon,” heavily samples Björk’s vocals.
Despite the quality of the album, there still seems to be something fishy about a highly anticipated album getting leaked right after gaining so much hype from a release date announcement. The label certainly did not miss a beat releasing the album after it was leaked either.
I’m not saying that the leak was intentional; it most likely was not, but this sort of thing happening is certainly nothing new. Marketers are always looking for ways to most effectively use fans’ hype to their advantage. And what better hype is there than that of a leaked album?
It might not seem to be the best strategy to sell to people what they can have for free, but considering the state of the music industry, where pretty much any music can be easily obtained for free, selling fans what they have already listened to while they are still oh-so excited about it might not seem like such a bad idea after all.
Intentionally leaked or not, “Vulnicura” is a fantastic piece of music that I cannot recommend highly enough. If you’re a fan of Björk and haven’t listened to it yet, then what the heck are you doing!? Listen to it. And if you’ve never listened to Björk before, this would be a great place to start. “Vulnicura” takes all the best elements of Björk, adds a bit of experimentation and still manages to be beautiful and accessible.
