Length 3:21 Composer(s) Björk | Writer(s) Björk
Guy Sigsworth | |
Genre Ambient
electronic
baroque pop | ||
"Unravel" is the third song on the album Homogenic by Björk, which was released in 1997. The song features a prominent example of Björk's use of a half-singing, half-speaking technique which, according to folklore specialist Njall Sigurason, is comparable to that of Old Icelandic choirmen. Structurally, the song is made up of a slowly sweeping melody, saxophones, a church organ, and distant-sounding electronic beats.
Contents
Video
Even though "Unravel" was not released as a single, a video was made by Lynn Fox to promote Björk's Greatest Hits Tour. The video won a silver prize at the 2004 D&AD Awards, an event recognizing annual achievements in design and advertising.
Other artists
In a 2006 interview with Spin magazine, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke named "Unravel" as his favourite song ever, and said, "I'm trying to get Radiohead to do a cover because I think it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." On November 8, 2007, Yorke performed a cover of the song as part of Radiohead's "Thumbs Down" webcast. A snippet of the song is also occasionally performed live as an intro to Everything in Its Right Place.
A cover of "Unravel" appears on folk rock artist Okkervil River's split CD Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral, as well as the Japanese import version of alternative rock band Something Corporate's album North.
The Flaming Lips and Midlake added the song to their albums Late Night Tales: The Flaming Lips and Late Night Tales: Midlake respectively, which is a compilation of artists and songs that have affected and influenced the bands.
Anthony Green and Casey Crescenzo performed an acoustic cover of "Unravel" as a part of a 2007 tour featuring Circa Survive and The Dear Hunter.
Portuguese guitarist Norberto Lobo recorded a cover of "Unravel" for his 2009 album Pata Lenta.
The Swingle Singers recorded an a cappella arrangement of "Unravel" for their 2009 album Ferris Wheels.
Adem recorded a cover for his album Takes which contained only covers of songs by other artists.
[Something Corporate] recorded a cover as a bonus track for their album North. It was released exclusively on the Japanese version of the album.
Brazilian singer Alice Caymmi released a cover version of the song at her 2012 debut album.