Post - Bjork

...as Bjork is usually called in the press; that, or the ''Icelandic pixie''. Racialist, but excellent nonetheless.

One of the wildest vocalists in pop, Bjork Gudmundsdottir (for that is her full name, apparently) has spent most of her life creating experimental music that defies any classification I can imagine. Those who know her only by her solo career - most of us - may be surprised to learn that she released albums with three separate bands prior to going her own way around 1993, and in fact this eccentric and original talent has had some measure of fame since she was sixteen.

Post is in my opinion Bjork's best album. Featuring several chart hits as well as a compliment of album fillers, it is her most accessible album by far. Combining accessibility with originality is a difficult task but Bjork has achieved it with this album.

Those new to Bjork - myself included until quite recently - will find her style unusual at first, and quite often also a little irritating. Perhaps ''irritating'' is a little harsh... confusing would be a better description. She has an amazing voice but uses it like no other singer I have heard, and this takes a while to become familiar with. Perhaps the closesy comparison would be an Icelandic Kate Bush, surreal as that sounds. ;)

Post opens with Army Of Me, quite a well-known song and probably the most aggressive track on the album. Engineered by Graham Massey of 808 State, from the word go it's straight into the synthesised beat which runs throughout the track, pounding away at you. Lyrically this a weak song by Bjork's standards, expressing her frustration with herself for supporting others. It's good, but been done before.

Hyper-ballad follows straight on, leading us into a far more relaxed section of the CD. Features a few nice moments, but on the whole it's an average track. It's Oh So Quiet, by comparison, might well be her most widely-known song, and would be a worthy candidate for this accolade. Sweeping up from a slow start into the heady pace of Bjork ''falling in love'', it's an example of Bjork at her most accessible, addressing a simple subject with none-too-subtle irony. Moments like these, when you really hear the words for the first time, are what make Bjork.

The next track of note is another well-known single, Possibly Maybe. As with most of the tracks released into the single charts, it is quite a straight-forward ''pop'' effort by her standard. That said, it combines elements of pop, rock and at times, trance, to form an entrancing song. Somehow you find yourself drawn into it, into Bjork's world which you suspect is somewhere quite far from our's.

The major drawback with the album, for both newbies and fans, is the inconsistency of the album as a whole. While the afore-mentioned songs are on the whole excellent, those I haven't mentioned were omitted for a good reason: they're not really worthy of note. At best mediocre, these album fillers seem tired and uninspired in comparison to what we know she can do. This really detracts from an otherwise superb album.

Those looking to get into Bjork would find this by far the best album to start with. The four or five best tracks are very accessible, although the remainder of the album is poor and you should keep this in mind. Worth the purchase nonetheless, purely for the moments of brilliance she is capable of.

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