The 10 greatest Björk songs
Since Björk burst on the scene in the 1980s as a member of the alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, the Icelandic musician has inspired countless others, whether that be through her distinctive voice or the unique combination of genres and experimentation within her work.
After releasing her aptly-titled first album, Debut, in 1993, Björk established herself as one of the most important living musicians. Her album seamlessly mixed rock, pop, trip-hop, house, techno and jazz, bringing something fresh and innovative to the ’90s alternative scene.
Throughout the decade, the musician continued to release stellar albums, including Post and Homogenic, and the following decade was just as fruitful. Vespertine demonstrated Björk’s pure talent for providing raw and emotionally honest lyrics and vocal performances, and Medúlla, an almost-entirely vocal-based album, pushed the boundaries of what a popular artist could create.
Artists that have cited Björk as a significant influence include Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, FKA Twigs, SZA, Perfume Genius, Missy Elliott, Madonna, and Charli XCX. She has shaped the landscape of pop music into what we know today, paving the way for brave and bold producers and musicians such as SOPHIE and Arca, the latter of whom collaborated with Björk on her 2017 album Utopia.
Björk’s back catalogue is incredible, and it is near-impossible to whittle it down to ten. However, here are ten songs that arguably represent Björk at her best.
The 10 greatest Björk songs:
‘Army Of Me’ – Post (1995)
Appearing on her second album, Post, ‘Army of Me’ is a demanding, swaggering industrial rock track infused with techno, trip-hop and electronic instruments. The infectious drum beat is sampled from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Where the Levee Breaks’, yet Björk takes the classic rock song and turns it into something modern by layering synths and her distinctive vocals.
The singer revealed that the track is about her brother, who had “been a bit out of order for a while.” In the chorus, Björk asserts, “And if you complain once more/You’ll meet an army of me.”
She explained: “Imagine you’re in a club full of heavy metal types and grunge people; ‘Army of Me’ is like someone’s granny blasting out over the PA and saying, ‘Snap out of it! Stop whining! Wash your hair! Smarten yourself up!”
‘Big Time Sensuality’ – Debut (1993)
Taken from Debut, ‘Big Time Sensuality’ bounces with a contagious rhythm driven by keyboards and synths. The singer declares her love for life and her friends, explaining in the chorus, “It takes courage to enjoy it”. Björk was inspired by meeting like-minded musicians, such as Nellee Hooper, who co-wrote and produced the track.
Björk shared: “I think it’s quite rare, when you’re obsessed with your job, as I am, when you meet someone who’s your other part jobwise and enables you to do what you completely want.” The song was remixed by Fluke, which Björk chose to release as the single version instead of the one that appears on Debut.
‘Pagan Poetry’ – Vespertine (2001)
‘Pagan Poetry’ is one of Vespertine’s many masterpieces, which sees Björk grapple with fulfilling her sexual and emotional needs. A combination of gorgeous harps and intense beats accompany Björk’s voice as she contemplates the complexity of her desires. As the song reaches a dramatic climax, the instrumentals are stripped back as Björk’s voice becomes the focal point.
In ‘Pagan Poetry’, we receive one of the singer’s most intense, raw and vulnerable vocal performances. With her voice taking centre stage, she repeatedly sings, “I love him”, before screeching: “He makes me want to hand myself over.”
The gorgeous track is a standout of Vespertine and one of the best cuts of Björk’s whole discography.
‘Pluto’ – Homogenic (1997)
The penultimate track on Björk’s third album Homogenic, ‘Pluto’, is one of the artist’s most confronting songs to date and one that she frequently ends live sets with. A harsh beat dominates the song before glitching behind Björk’s impressive droning vocals. Inspired by astrology and Norse mythology, ‘Pluto’ explores an explosion of rebirth and renewal.
The singer said: “You have this saga where the Gods get aggressive and the world explodes and everything dies and then the sun comes up and everything starts all over again,” referring to the story of Ragnarok. She also said the song is about “being plastered, that need to destroy everything so you can start again.”
‘Play Dead’ (1993)
A non-album cut, ‘Play Dead’ was released as part of The Young Americans soundtrack in 1993, just a few months after the release of Debut. The melody and lyrics were written by Björk, the bassline by Jah Wobble, and David Arnold composed the rest of the track.
Lyrically, the song is inspired by the film’s protagonist, which Björk found “very difficult” because “the character in the film was suffering and going through hardcore tough times and at the time I was at my happiest.” The track is appropriately cinematic and dramatic, and shimmering strings aid Björk’s powerful voice.
‘All Is Full Of Love’ – Homogenic (1997)
‘All Is Full Of Love’ follows ‘Pluto’, and the contrast between the two couldn’t be more striking. The high-tempo and aggressive nature is stripped away as Björk creates a celestial and otherworldly soundscape. She wrote and recorded the lush track in half a day after the appearance of springtime inspired her following a harsh winter.
Whereas ‘Pluto’ represented destruction and death, Björk asserts that ‘All Is Full Of Love’ is “like the birds coming out after a thunderstorm.” She also described the song as about “believing in love.”
Detailing further, the singer continued: “Love isn’t just about two persons. It’s everywhere around you. Even if you’re not getting love from Person A, it doesn’t mean there’s not love there.”
‘Hyper-ballad’ – Post (1995)
Although ‘Hyper-ballad’ is far from Björk’s most experimental work, it is fiercely demonstrative of her powers to create such a genius song using such a straightforward structure. The pop track is laced with house rhythms, yet emotion is stirred through a delicate string section. Björk sings about throwing little objects from a cliff and watching them smash on the ground, which she imagines as her body.
She said: “I guess that song is about when you’re in a relationship and it’s going really well and you’re really happy and maybe you have given up parts of yourself. To fall in love and be in a relationship for a long time is like giving a lot of parts of you away because the relationship becomes more important than you as individuals. It’s a bit of a tricky balance. I think everyone in a relationship needs to know not to forget themselves…”
‘Black Lake’ – Vulnicura (2015)
After Björk’s painful divorce from Matthew Barney, she penned Vulnicura, arguably the singer’s most honest and emotional output thus far. The heartwrenching album contains the ten-minute-long ‘Black Lake’, one of the most moving songs in Björk’s back catalogue. The musician is faithful to her use of nature imagery, emphasising her personal hurt. Lyrics such as “Into the fabric of all/ He is woven” are simple yet highly effective in their emotional effect.
Of the track’s strings, she 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.”
‘Fossora’ – Fossora (2022)
Björk’s tenth studio album, Fossora, demonstrated that the singer is far from slowing down. On the title track, clarinets dominate alongside a piercing beat before descending into chaos. An unforgettable hard dance-floor beat carries out the song with defiance and confidence as Björk’s lyrics allude to being at home.
The musician described Fossora as “just being at home and living in my little hole, hunkering down with friends and family and putting down roots.” Björk uses mushrooms as a metaphor for this idea, saying: “I described the sound to the musicians as my mushroom album: tree roots and mycelium spreading deep into the soil.”
‘Possibly Maybe’ – Post (1995)
Björk described ‘Possibly Maybe’ as “the first unhappy song I wrote… I felt ashamed writing a song that was not giving hope.” However, the track demonstrates that when Björk uses music as a medium for pain and sadness, she produces some of her most astounding works.
The trip-hop-infused song reflects on failed love, and Björk creates a dynamic and mesmerising atmosphere that feels mystical and dreamy. ‘Possibly Maybe’, which features vinyl crackling and glissando strings, is a great precursor to the emotionally-charged Vespertine, which contains some similarly muted, glitch-inspired tracks such as ‘An Echo, A Stain’.
