Medúlla

Title and artwork

Björk struggled to find a title for the album. She said, "Something in me wanted to leave out civilisation, to rewind to before it all happened and work out, 'Where is the human soul? What if we do without civilisation and religion and patriotism, without the stuff that has gone wrong?'", originally calling it Ink, as she wanted the title to represent the "5,000 year-old blood that's inside us all; an ancient spirit that's passionate and dark, a spirit that survives". A friend then suggested "Medúlla", a medical term for bone marrow in Latin.

The album cover for Medúlla was photographed by Inez and Vinoodh in London, on 28 June 2004, and designed by M/M Paris. It features Björk wearing a mask made of hair, a black dress and a necklace that is made of a black substance that says "Medúlla". The hair mask was made specifically for the shoot by Björk's friend, Shoplifter. Inez van Lamsweerde said that they "were all inspired by women's handicrafts and this idea of being in your own cocoon in your home, with your family, and this reclusive character that hand-makes the whole world around her". The hairpiece was part of a 2015 MoMA retrospective on the singer, titled Björk.

Music structure and lyrics

At the time of its construction, Björk considered Medúlla to be her most political album, saying that it countered outbreaks of racism and patriotism that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks. These messages are prominent throughout the album, especially on the song "Mouth's Cradle". Björk also stated that being pregnant with her daughter, Ísadóra, influenced the album, particularly the song "Submarine". Björk described "Submarine" as a song meant to call her attention to wake up and work, because she felt that maybe she got somewhat lazy after having her daughter.

The album consists almost entirely of human vocals and a cappella arrangements; only a few musical instruments are featured: a bass synthesizer on "Who Is It", piano on "Ancestors" and a gong on "Pleasure Is All Mine". However, the vocals are sometimes processed or sampled: for example, the atmospheric haze that dominates "Desired Constellation" was created from a sample of Björk singing the phrase "I'm not sure what to do with it" from "Hidden Place" on her previous album, Vespertine; another example are the cut-up vocals in "Mouth's Cradle"; and also, the beat noises on "Miðvikudags" are made out of Björk clicking her tongue. The album features beatboxing, choral arrangements and throat singing, as well as guest appearances by such artists as Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt, Tanya Tagaq, Rahzel (formerly of The Roots), Shlomo and Dokaka. Beyoncé was also set to appear in the album, as Björk considered "the best voice in the world must be in an album made of just voices," though this didn't materialize due to schedulling conflicts.

All songs were written by Björk, except the lyrics for "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" which was based on the poem It May Not Always Be So; And I Say by E. E. Cummings, and the song "Vökuró", originally by Jórunn Viðar.

The album was originally released on CD, SACD and on DVD-Audio and SACD in 5.1-channel advanced resolution. The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including a lower-quality DTS 96/24 version of the original advanced resolution 5.1 mix. The DualDisc also formed part of the ( surrounded): box set.

Promotion

"Oceania" was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee and performed at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games. She wore a very large dress which unfolded during her performance to eventually occupy the entire stadium and showed a map of the world in sign of union. Additionally, Björk wore "bluish-purple glittery eye shadow across her lids. Her dark hair dangled in tiny twists that framed her pixieish, freckled face". On 8 October 2004, Björk performed at the BBC Studios for the show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She performed a bell choir mix of "Who Is It" with Rahzel and an English bell choir. On 10 October 2004, Björk performed a set of five songs live in studio for Gilles Peterson's BBC Radio 1 program. On 15 October 2004, Björk performed a set of six songs for the French television show Album de la Semaine at Canal+ studios in Paris, France. On 2 July 2005, Björk performed in Tokyo, Japan, at the Makuhari Messe for Live 8.

Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla. Björk said in numerous interviews that this was because she wished to immediately continue writing and recording yet another new album. She spoke to Rolling Stone in June 2004: "Every album I've done, the minute that it's done, I feel really lubricated and, like, 'Wow, now I can write an album in five minutes'... And I just want to find out if that's just a fantasy or if it's true." Also, Björk thought it would be too difficult to play the songs live.

Critical reception

Medúlla received critical acclaim from music critics. The album holds a rating of 84 out of 100 at Metacritic. The Guardian newspaper's David Peschek gave it five stars out of five and heralded it as "brave and unique". Dominique Leone from Pitchfork Media commented that Medulla was "an interesting record", while saying Björk had "found a way to bathe her immediately distinctive melodies and vocal nuances in solutions that cause me to reevaluate her voice and her craft". Barry Walters of Rolling Stone stated that "Medulla is both the most extreme record Bjork has ever released and the most immediately accessible." Blender's Ann Powers was also positive, calling it "another playful step" in Björk's "unstoppable, wandering quest". Matthew Gasteier from Prefix magazine called Medúlla her most joyful album since Post and also her strangest at the time. Mark Daniell from Canadian website Jam! also gave it a positive review, saying "pairing gooey purrs with grooves provided by a human trombone might not seem like a good idea, but when Björk is the one making the arrangements the effect is spine tingling".

In more balanced reviews, Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club said that "Once perceptions and expectations settle out... the album proves arrestingly in thrall to its own twisted tongue", while AllMusic thought that Medúlla is "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". Jennifer Vineyard from MTV News called the album "an ambitious project — and not just because it's almost entirely a cappella. The songs are pretty unusual, as well. Some could be medieval hymns; others could be modern pop songs; others are almost indescribable. But throughout, Medúlla is a strange journey that can leave you feeling elated or unsettled, without quite understanding why". David Hooper from BBC Music gave Medúlla a mixed review, stating that it has some high points and it never gets boring, but the album left him "feeling rather confused", because "the end product feels disjointed and at times claustrophobic. Whereas previous albums like Vespertine were real growers, some people may lose patience with this one. The unquenchable desire to try out new ideas, which makes Björk such an exciting artist, may prove to be her downfall on Medúlla, as too much of the experimentation doesn't quite hit the mark". Björk received two Grammy Award nominations for Medúlla, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Oceania", and Best Alternative Music Album. This album was also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Commercial reception

The album reached a position of number nine on the UK Albums Chart and number 14 on the US Billboard 200, her highest position at the time. It also reached number one in Estonia, France, Iceland and Belgium (Wallonia).

Medúlla has sold 235,000 copies in the US, and more than 1 million worldwide.

Track listing

All the songs written and produced by Björk, except where are noted.

Personnel