For me, Bjork has always been a difficult case - for a long time I simply couldn't make up my mind whether I like her or not. Her talent and brilliance has always been apparent to me (how could one miss that?), but for a while I was put off by the techno-leanings in her songs. Finally, hearing her songs at various situations, her voice and challenging backgrounds overcame my prejudice, and now I have to say that I very much enjoy most of her music.
"Selmasongs" is not bad by any means, and I don't regret buying it, but still it was not as good as I had expected. Having not seen the movie, I was left to judge the music by it's merits alone - whether familiarity with the movie imagery brings more depth into the listening experience, that I can not tell.
The album opens up with a brilliant and beautiful
"Overture", a peaceful classical piece that grows in grandiosity toward the end. Being a fan of classical music as well, I have to say that this impressive piece was the best the album had to offer.
"Cvalda" starts with a mechanic clatter and the sounds of a factory slowly (a bit too slowly if you ask me) developing a rhythm. To follow is an innovative song, but still.... there's a feeling that something is missing.
"I've Seen It All" is a duet with Thom Yourke, a song that sits well on the album. Quite nice.
"Scatterheart" begins with soft xylophones and the scratchy sounds of an old lp-record, with Bjork singing. The background changes to a beat, and soon the song displays it's nature - nice, but not memorable. Complex, may get a bit tedious for some listeners.
"In the Musicals" has really interesting backgrounds to start with - samples compiled from the noises of a basketball bouncing, and tennis shoes screeching against the floor of a basketball court. The song seems to get better as it goes along, concentrating on the beat - I quite like this one. The early-jazz style horn-sample that make's a brief visit near the end of the song is a nice touch.
"107 Steps" Starts of with a whispering count of steps that continues throughout the track, with the stepping sounds and slow orchestral music in the background - then Bjork starts to sing out the numbers, and a few mechanical sounds mix with the orchestra. Towards the end the orchestra picks up pace and power. The orchestra saves the song, which could be pretty tedious judged on the lyrics alone.
"New World" Is a ballad with a beat and an orchestra on the background. Not a bad ending for the cd, though the end does come a bit too soon - it seems that the cd could have used a few more tracks.
In summary, not a bad buy, but don't raise your expectations too high.
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