Bjork's Medulla was a good idea in theory, but not exactly in execution. Certainly, if anyone was going to pull off a record propelled only by voices, it was going to be the Icelandic pop fairy princess. But like Vespertine, Medulla was simply a hit and miss affair.
Perhaps realizing that she'd gone a little too far ahead of her time with that album, Bjork has taken a step backward for the first time in her storied career. It's true that the music she was making from 1994 to 1998 sounded like it was crafted in 2050, but because it exists, Volta comes off like an exercise in nostalgia. It's hard to go so far as to say Bjork's lost it, since there are so many moments on the new record that put her far ahead of her contemporaries.
However, it's obvious she's losing a bit of ground. The star-studded guest list has something to do with it. I don't know whether Timbaland's burned out from crafting too many #1 hits or if he simply doesn't know how to work around Bjork.
He didn't bring his A-game to any of the three tracks he worked on, least of all album opener "Earth Intruders," with its cheesy synth effects and muddy beats, or "Innocence," which sees Bjork awkwardly helming an inverted "Sexyback." "Wanderlust" is merely a refried version of "Hyperballad" and "Declare Independence," while exciting, isn't much more than a tuneless "Pluto." Mercury Prize-winner Antony's duet on "The Dull Flame Of Desire" is pleasant, yet hardly worth seven minutes of escalating wails.
Ultimately, it's not at all bad. It's just far from great, and that's what Bjork's fans have come to expect over the past 19 years.
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