Six Definitive Songs: The ultimate beginner’s guide to Björk
Björk has consistently proven herself to be one of music’s most innovative and ground-breaking talents. She is a pioneering figure of experimental pop, blending a wide scope of genres into her work – from dance to jazz to classical to rock – creating a unique sound that complements her distinctive voice.
The multi-talented musician has explored her interest in different genres and approaches to music since she was a child. Born Björk Guðmundsdóttir in 1965, the Icelandic artist began studying classical piano and flute when she was just six years old. When she was still a child, a recording of her singing was sent to Iceland’s only radio station, which led her to secure a recording contract. By the tender age of 11, Björk had released her first album. Rejecting the offer to record a second, she spent her teenage years playing in a variety of different bands, including an all-girl punk outfit Spit and Snot, a jazz-fusion group called Exodus, and the gothic rock band Tappi Tíkarrass.
However, Björk’s most successful project outside of her solo work was as the lead singer of The Sugarcubes. The band were labelled as “the biggest rock band to emerge from Iceland” and greatly influenced Icelandic and international artists alike. Upon the band’s split, Björk began her solo career, dropping her incredible album Debut in 1993. Her mesmerising blend of danceable beats, jazz, pop, trip-hop, and electronica that accompanies searing vocal performances of “simple but passionate” lyrics was critically praised.
Since then, Björk has released a further eight studio albums, alongside two soundtracks, and countless remixes, compilations, live albums, and singles. Despite her experimentation with new genres, sounds, and production methods, Björk never fails to deliver intricately crafted, emotional, and intimate songs. Much of this can be owed to her unique voice which holds impressive range, alongside her honest lyricism that never gets lost amongst blistering percussion or glitchy beats.
The musician has an incredible body of work to her name which makes it rather difficult to pick just six songs to define her career. However, these six songs demonstrate Björk’s admirable lyrical, vocal, and instrumental range, spanning almost thirty years.
Björk’s six definitive songs:
‘Human Behaviour’ – Debut (1993)
Opening with the memorable lines, “If you ever get close to a human and human behaviour/ Be ready, be ready to get confused,” Björk’s debut single ‘Human Behaviour,’ is the perfect introduction to her solo career. The track showcases her distinctive and wide-ranging vocal abilities, alongside her perceptive lyrical talent. Inspired by David Attenborough‘s nature documentaries, the song takes a unique observational approach to the oddness of humanity from an animal perspective, with the singer stating that “the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end.”
Acting as the opener for her first album Debut, the track incorporates the driving, militaristic riff from ‘Go Down Dying’ by Ray Brown Orchestra. The dancing percussion perfectly suits Björk’s voice which cuts through the instrumentation demanding to be heard. It’s a stellar debut which remains one of the musician’s most memorable tracks, defining her earlier work through its smart lyricism, compelling melodies, and powerful vocals.
‘Possibly Maybe’ – Post (1995)
Björk’s second album Post was released to universal acclaim and remains one of her greatest works, containing hits such as ‘Army Of Me,’ ‘It’s Oh So Quiet,’ and ‘Hyper-ballad.’ The album experiments with an eclectic mix of genres whilst remaining cohesive and sees the musician refine ideas that appeared on Debut. One of the most intricately crafted tracks on the album is ‘Possibly Maybe,’ a trip-hop-influenced, melancholic meditation on failed love.
The five-minute track uses slow ambient beats that hit with the same emotional depth as Björk’s accompanying lyrics. ‘Possibly Maybe’ uses mesmeric instrumentation, featuring “a vinyl-crackling ambience, full of glissando strings and leaden, muted bass,” creating an otherworldly, ethereal soundscape. Björk describes the song as “the first unhappy song I wrote… I felt ashamed writing a song that was not giving hope.” Yet, the song acts as a brilliant precursor, both emotionally and sonically, for her fourth album Vespertine.
‘Hunter’ – Homogenic (1997)
With Björk’s third album Homogenic, the musician was hugely inspired by her native Iceland. She wanted the music to bear resemblance to Iceland’s combination of traditionalism and rapid modernisation, saying, “the electronic beats are the rhythm, the heartbeat. The violins create the old-fashioned atmosphere.” One of the tracks that exemplifies this best is ‘Hunter.’ Using forceful electronic beats programmed by long-time collaborator Mark Bell, the song possesses defiant, powerful energy that is emphasised by the penetrating, regal-sounding strings and glitching vocal effects.
Björk described the song as a response to the pressures of making music, stating, “I guess that song’s about when you have a lot of people that work for you, and you sort-of have to write songs or people get unemployed, you know? In most cases, it’s inspiring, but in that particular song, I was pissed off with it. I was ready for a break, but it didn’t seem fair on the people I worked with at the time.”
‘Pagan Poetry’ – Vespertine (2001)
Arguably the musician’s most intimate and emotionally vulnerable work to date, Vespertine is an astounding exploration of love and sex, accompanied by a mixture of celestial-sounding instruments such as harps, music boxes, and strings alongside minimal electronic beats. One of the album’s many masterpieces is ‘Pagan Poetry,’ a tale of unrequited love which sees Björk explore raw feelings culminating in a standout vocal performance.
The sensual musical palette of pounding beats and rushing harps is stripped away near the end of the song, giving way to her exposed, wavering voice. She repeats the words “I love him” before her terrifyingly beautiful screech of “he makes me want to hand myself over.” The accompanying music video for ‘Pagan Poetry’ was highly controversial upon its release, featuring images of the musician’s naked body, needles piercing skin, and blurry, edited footage of Björk engaging in sexual acts.
‘Black Lake’ – Vulnicura (2015)
A few months after her divorce, Björk penned ‘Black Lake’ whilst spending time in Japan. Standing at ten minutes long, the track is a painful odyssey through heartbreak, using images of nature and spirituality which emphasise her devastation. Despite Björk claiming that she was embarrassed by some of the lyrics, saying that, “I was maybe feeling really sorry for myself and filled with cowardice when I wrote that,” the song contains some of her most simple yet painful lyrics. These include, “Into the fabric of all/ He is woven,” and “Did I love you too much?/ Devotion bent me broken.”
Speaking about the track’s searing and tender strings, Björk compared them to “when you’re trying to express something and you sort of start, but then nothing comes out. […], And the chords in-between, they sort of represent that. […] We called them ‘the freezes,’ these moments between the verses. They’re longer than the verses, actually. It’s just that one emotion when you’re stuck.” The gorgeous and hard-hitting instrumentation of ‘Black Lake’ is arguably some of Björk’s most moving to date.
‘Arisen My Senses’ – Utopia (2017)
The first song created by Björk with co-writer and co-producer Arca, ‘Arisen My Senses’ is the beginning of the musician’s ‘rebirth’ which comes after the heart wrenching Vulnicura, which documented the breakdown of the singer’s marriage to Matthew Barney. Combining experimental cacophonous sounds with delicate harps, Björk described ‘Arisen My Senses’ as “an optimist rebellion against the normal narrative melody. There’s not one melody. It’s like five melodies.”
A glitching, thumping mixture of instruments back Björk’s glorious vocals as she sings “ecstatic lyrics” that depict a readiness for new love and a rediscovery of blissful sexuality. Detailing the reaction of her senses to a first kiss with someone new, she sings, “Just that kiss/ Was all there is/ Every cell in my body/ Lined up for you/ Legs a little open/ Once again/ Awaken my senses.” The track’s welcoming of change and renewal reflects the constant sonic experimentation that solidifies Björk as one of music’s most influential figures.
