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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Medulla may divide Björk's audience, but, combining intellectual rigour and sensual ravishment, it is brave and unique.
90
Medúlla arrives at a time when every last one of us would do well to remember the indomitable power of the human voice.
11y
90
Instead of singing over interesting beats and scattered rhythms, Björk uses her voice to dictate where the music goes.
84
It's an outrageous conceit from Iceland's most notorious experimental export, and a huge risk for her career after the relatively conventional, diehard-pleasing Vespertine.
11y
83
On Medulla, her voice is in constant motion, in sync with the beat, rather than battling it, whether she's running uphill (the orgasmic gasps of "Pleasure Is All Mine") or just bobbing weightlessly ("Vokuro").
80
It's not an immediate album, but it is a fascinating one, especially for anyone interested in the world's oldest instrument being used in unexpected ways.
11y
80
Basically, bits of Medulla sound similar to Vespertine, but there's a marked distinction in the means of delivery and enough change to keep things interesting.
11y
80
Very few performers in the history of pop have possessed the gift of making records which are instantly, recognisably theirs, at the same time as sounding like no other music previously made on this earth. If anyone out there still doubted that Bjork was one of these people, this extraordinary album will soon set them straight.
80
Not only the bravest record she's ever made, it's also one of the strangest and most uncompromising by a major artist to get a commercial release.
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7mo
77
A fractured LP, compelling and convincing in its intent, but just plain less satisfying than Vespertine or Post.
70
Bjork’s seventh studio album is a shocker, the kind of record that’ll stop those who overhear it and make them ask, “What the hell is that?” Medulla is both the most extreme record Bjork has ever released and the most immediately accessible.
60
Medúlla is ahead of its time, and its failures are in the minority, but only time will tell if the album can earn a spot in heavy rotation the way Debut, Post, and Homogenic have.
60
The few electronic beats and textures are deft, discreet soundbeds for the lush intimacies of the vocals, which slip from soothing to strident.
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7mo
60
It is the curious marriage of glottal outpouring and emotional candour to microscopically detailed and often utterly illogical arrangements that keeps her music vital and unpredictable.
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3mo
40
It's an intriguing concept and she's got some excellent vocal technicians helping out, but the slowly unfolding songs just seem incomplete, like a cappella demos sorely in need of instrumental support.
Shout out to Indiana University's Victoria Malawey, who has written multiple fascinating papers about this incredible album (possibly my favorite record of all time).
Há 17 anos, Björk lançava o sucessor do Vespertine, o disco "Medúlla", aqui a cantora novamente mostra que a sua criatividade é sem limites.
"Medúlla" é um dos discos mais exóticos da cantora, ele é bem experimental. No disco ela dispensa os instrumentos e faz um projeto totalmente à capela, todo o instrumental do álbum é feito com vozes, em algumas faixas é possível notar o ... read more
Enquanto a experimentações, 'Medulla' é sem dúvida um dos maiores destaques na carreira de Björk, que em seu quinto álbum de estúdio não poupou esforços para atingir em cheio o objetivo de se desvincular de toda proposta trabalhada por ela em seus álbuns anteriores. E ela faz isso trazendo confiança em suas composições e ousadia na produção repleta de camadas e sons orgânicos que giram ... read more
idk, its like she knows what she wants to do wit this project, but sometimes it just doesn't work yk?? i enjoyed her previous albums but this one jus didn't stick with me as much
~~~
FAV SONGS: Pleasure Is All Mine, Vokuro
LEAST FAVS: the rest of em.
RE-VISITING EVERY ONE OF MY 9/10+'s: #2:
She forgot the instrumentals 😹😹😹😹😹
Where do you go after crafting one of the most beautiful albums ever made? For Bjork she decided to craft an album using the most beautiful instrument in the world. John Coltrane's saxophone? No close though, the human voice. Bjork creates a soundscape in this album using only her singing, guest vocals and beatboxing, as well as weird throat noises (clearly inspired by Carti but I'll let it slide). Some ... read more
What an interesting album. It doesn't always work, not close, but the album is interesting, that's for sure.
It's been a while since my last review, partly because I just started another semester of college, and partly because I've been listening to a lot of Vespertine and not a lot of anything else. But it's given me time to listen to Medulla a few times. Funnily enough, with each new listen, I added more songs to my playlist of songs I like. The album reeeeally grew on me, which is a good ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Pleasure Is All Mine 3:26 | 90 |
| 2 | Show Me Forgiveness 1:23 | 81 |
| 3 | Where Is the Line? 4:41 | 91 |
| 4 | Vökuró 3:14 | 85 |
| 5 | Öll Birtan 1:52 | 76 |
| 6 | Who Is It (Carry My Joy On the Left, Carry My Pain On the Right) 3:57 | 91 |
| 7 | Submarine 3:13 | 79 |
| 8 | Desired Constellation 4:55 | 88 |
| 9 | Oceania 3:24 | 92 |
| 10 | Sonnets / Unrealities XI 1:59 | 84 |
| 11 | Ancestors 4:08 | 73 |
| 12 | Mouth's Cradle 3:59 | 88 |
| 13 | Miðvikudags 1:24 | 76 |
| 14 | Triuimph of a Heart 4:04 | 90 |
Total Length: 45 minutes
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Added on: July 2, 2011