album Björk - 'Fossora'

[BOAZ]

1 minute ago, GentleEarthquake said:

mmmm where is the l word

on youtube stream this masterpiece

 

 

[John Slayne]

6 hours ago, FlyPirate said:

 

they switch, they switch like fagurts 

 

them calling victimhood the body memory of fossora…. BODY MEMORY STANS WE ******* WON 

PURR BODY MEMORY STANS RISE UP

[Invisibility]

As much as people have attempted to drag Body Memory (myself included) I really do love the song for 2/3 of its runtime. And if Sorrowful Soil is going to be an epic choir moment I'm not against it!

[John Slayne]

the fact that some of y'all just can't admit Utopia is a great album so you have to resort to 'bad mixing' arguments 

[BOAZ]

another review from a 4um user

 

what to say... it was immediate love. it's not an easy listen. experimental, yes, but very low-key and subdued. that's what took me by surprise. i wasn't expecting that after the singles we got.

immediate standouts --

Fungal City - probably the most upbeat, joyous and traditional song she's done since Wanderlust. once the chorus kicked in, i had a huge grin from ear to ear. i think it will become a bjork-classic! just the tone/timber of her vocals is the most upbeat we've heard her since moon on biophilia. and watch out for the second chorus - it gets so big and joyous it almost feels like a broadway showstopper!! fungal city is without a doubt the most straightforward pop song bjork has done in decades. verse-chorus structure, lyrics that rhyme, and she sings like she's singing, if that makes sense. nothing experimental or new here, but a brilliant song beautifully conceived and executed.

Fossora - we all heard it yesterday. my favorite single and really it should've been the first one. gives a much greater sense of what the album is like. her singing the chorus is so playful and catchy, and the beats in the end.... unreal! the album could've used more moments like this. Lyrically I can't help but think this song might continue the Human Behaviour/isobel/bachelorette/wanderlust narrative...

Victimhood - moody and angsty, like described on the 4um, but i had a very positive reaction to it. recalls Enjoy from post, and indeed was giving me Post/Telegram vibes but on a very subdued level. the beats are slight and even quiet but reminded me of the vid version of I liked the juxtaposition of the moody instrumentation with the lyrics (she describes leaving old pain behind and moving on - the true end to the Vulnicura saga). the opening dissonant strings are definitely inspired by Bernard Herrmann's music. she included his score to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on her sono's playlist. we've known she's a fan since some bts footage of a nick knight photoshoot during Vulnicura, but i'm happy to see that influence realized in her music

ovule - we've known (and hopefully loved) it for weeks. i won't spoil things but expect something very different on the vinyl compared to the single... (kinda spoiler-ish: i prefer the single version and hope that's the mix/master used for the CD, too)

bad moments... hmm nothing terrible. interesting choices. the true moment of disappointment, though, is allow

Allow - Emilie Nicolas destroys the song for me, but i will admit 100% she has a nice voice. but it's not bjork's voice! when the 1st chorus began with Nicolas singing the word "allow" over and over, my heart sank. i needed bjork in that moment. i can only imagine Arca and Bjork's version is superior. that being said, the second verse is one of the most gorgeous moments on the record; lyrically, vocally, instrumentally. bjork sings about the wonderous beauty of nature, and how she "longs to float there, midair" with the treetops, "amongst impossible magic". Spine-tingling stuff! Nicolas sings the final verse alone, but by that point the song is over for me.

Allow is not the straight-forward song described in the Dazed article from 2017 but it is melodic, and while it's the only song with flutes, it's hard to believe this is the same flute melody she wrote for utopia. it fits so well with fossora that i suspect she re-wrote it. that's a pure guess on my part, but the vocals are very spoken-word, esp in the first verse, and a lot of fossora is like that. true, a lot of utopia is like that, too, but i can't imagine this song fitting in sonically with the previous album. it is, however, imo the most beautiful flutes from the utopia era. i can only hope bjork releases allow as a single and includes the original version...

let's see... negatives... i wasn't connecting with freefall at first. the first minute reminded me of the almost beatnik-like "Features creatures" -- almost a parody of a bjork song. i was rolling my eyes, but a 3rd of the way through the song... my goodness: another goosebumps moment. so dramatic, so powerful. recalls her cover of You Only Live Twice in terms of arrangement, vocal delivery, and drama. and then comes the pizzicato-fest the last 3rd of the song is. brilliant composing.

so yeah, not a lot of negatives. one thing i think will disappoint people is how low-key and almost unassertive many of the songs are. a lot of the melodies are very passive, very muted. song after song goes by and it almost feels like you haven't heard anything as it tends to bleed together. it's very odd but i also didn't mind that flow. maybe my explanation isn't doing the album justice and maybe it's misrepresenting the album completely, but from my perspective this is how it is. but as i said, i wasn't disappointed in this ebb and flow. i think the record works very well as a whole, and individual songs are brilliant or near brilliant. after a few listens, this low-key energy is a strength and allows the songs to get under your skin if you're patient enough.

the mastering on the vinyl pales in comparison to the singles we've gotten. they're much richer and more well-balanced, so i'm excited to explore the final version bjork created. if Ovule is anything to go by, there should be plenty of surprises

[Ice Cream Skies]

1 hour ago, John Slayne said:

the fact that some of y'all just can't admit Utopia is a great album so you have to resort to 'bad mixing' arguments 

This.

[shookspeare]

1 hour ago, John Slayne said:

the fact that some of y'all just can't admit Utopia is a great album so you have to resort to 'bad mixing' arguments 

suddenly everyone on atrl is an audio engineer 

 

utopia is exquisite overall even if it's bottom tier in her discography

 

 

 

[Azealia Banks]

Utopia was great idk what are yall on...

[BOAZ]

Utopia is a stinky stain on her discography, not only for its disgusting mixing

 

tracks like Utopia, Body Memory, Courtship, Sue Me and Saint are so full of stuff it's suffocating listening to them, they should invoke peace and air and it's the opposite for me. Blissing Me (not the remix version which is great) and Tabula Rasa are just boring, also The Gate even though is amazingly composed and produced aged like milk because of its slowness and uneventfulness. Even great tracks like Arisen and Losss suffer from being overcluttered with stuff. Features Creatures and Claimstaker are harmless but I can't really go back to them suddenly. Björk's greatest moment on Utopia is Future Forever - a tearjerking masterpiece

[JoanneActII]

utopia is her best album 

[HausOfGerard]

Utopia is her worst album 

[Cruel Summer]

I don’t remember most of Utopia even after I listen to it again 

[GentleEarthquake]

Utopia is one of her best albums

Edited September 29, 2022 by GentleEarthquake

[flower moon]

I switched recently and now love Utopia. The only song I really struggle with in The Gate...

[ChapelHooker]

Happy Fossora Day to all those who celebrate

[RT Air]

Omg my vinyl is with the delivery man and is set to arrive this afternoon 

Can’t wait to finish work and shoot down rrRrroots listening to it all night

[Ice Cream Skies]

My Turquoise vinyl has been pushed back for shipment until October 14... 

[Price of Fame]

out in 7 hours and I can't sleep

[marty_xcx]

tonight while i sleep i'll be dreaming of the absolute collapse in this thread in 6ish hours  

see ya then, fagurts 

Edited September 29, 2022 by marty_xcx

[4Walls]

44 minutes ago, Price of Fame said:

out in 7 hours and I can't sleep

girl SAME omg i went to sleep but now I just woke up at 2 am and I cANNOTTT go back to sleep  low-key thought it would L-word by now like......

[Pendulum]

I wonder if I should go to the record store today and act stupid "ohh hi I was wondering if you have already put out Fossora"

[Pendulum]

okay reserved the burgundy vinyl

[Egon Schiele]

I can't wait, fellow homosexuals

 

I don't really keep up with the forum nor social media anymore but I've been following this release closely.

 

Björk never disappoints, and Utopia has impeccable mixing so stop. 

[4Walls]

I wanna get a vinyl so bad but I have NO money rn  weed and food top priority. next paycheck I'll secure

 

this may have already been said, but does anybody else think that this era has kind of rejuvinated her popularity a bit? her streams/video views are kinda smashing compared to her last 3 eras. plus she's gained a lot of more new fans. Atopos being a slight hit on tik tok. 

 

fossora is gonna be such a successful era for her, this era will be long and plentiful. but I almost feel like the wait between albums won't be as long(5 years lol) as last time. there's a momentum happening and who knows she could already be writing new material. 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by 4Walls

[ChapelHooker]

16 minutes ago, 4Walls said:

I wanna get a vinyl so bad but I have NO money rn  weed and food top priority. next paycheck I'll secure

 

this may have already been said, but does anybody else think that this era has kind of rejuvinated her popularity a bit? her streams/video views are kinda smashing compared to her last 3 eras. plus she's gained a lot of more new fans. Atopos being a slight hit on tik tok. 

 

fossora is gonna be such a successful era for her, this era will be long and plentiful. but I almost feel like the wait between albums won't be as long(5 years lol) as last time. there's a momentum happening and who knows she could already be writing new material. 

 

 

I think it’s been a while that she had a punchy lead like Atopos which definitely helped her case. Plus a whole new bunch of younger fans who discovered her through Arca or something similar. All I hope is we get a dedicated tour because this album NEEDS to be experience live i fear. 
 

On another note, I cannot wait to see the book edition photos. I hope it’s more than just lyrics.