So I’m curious , if you could only choose ONE Björk song to introduce to someone who has never listened to her before, what would it be?
Not necessarily your personal favorite track, but the song you think works best as an entry point into her music and artistic world.
Would you try to freak people out with a very weird and unique pick or would you genuinely pick an easy listen?
I've made it! I finished Björk's discography (studio albums at least). Fossora, the last main studio album in my first full Björk journey.
This is kind of crazy to me because I started this just curious about why so many people call her a genius, and now I’m ending the studio albums basically like: yeah, I’m obsessed. There’s no going back from this, I'm a huge fan now.
I'll definitely rescore everything later for myself, listen to the remix albums, live albums, b-sides, side projects, everything. But for now, this closes the first run of the studio albums.
And Fossora was… a rave mushroom album??? 😂
I knew this was supposed to be the “mushroom album,” but I was NOT expecting a mushroom rave chaos. The beats here surprised me so much. Some of them are huge, aggressive, intimidating, moving, and honestly I was very here for it.
Overall score for now: 8.3/10
1. Atopos — 10/10
Interesting start. I liked the rhythm immediately, especially the beats mixed with the wind instruments. But then the outro happened and holy shit! The beat goes so fucking HARD. I had to go back and listen to that outro again because it caught me completely off guard. It literally felt like a rave of the mushrooms. Great intro, great energy, and a big highlight for me. ⭐
2. Ovule — 8/10
The bass in the production sounds really good here. This one didn’t destroy me emotionally or anything, but I was impressed by the lyrics and the production. I feel like this could grow with more listens. It has something there that I might appreciate more later.
3. Mycelia — 6/10
Interesting interlude. It feels like she’s paying homage to Medúlla here. And honestly, if Medúlla had approached vocal layering more like this, maybe I would’ve had more standouts from that album. I’m not in love with Medúlla, but I do like the concept of using voices as the main instrument. Here, I found the vocal layering more interesting and better constructed.
Still, as its own track, it didn’t fully grab me.
4. Sorrowful Soil — 6/10
Very Medúlla-coded again, and it’s kind of genius putting this right after Mycelia. I’m not usually the biggest fan of acappella songs, but she obviously does this with mastery. The lyrics are strong and I think if this had been on Medúlla, I might have highlighted it more. But here, in this album, it didn’t stand out that much for me.
It feels like I have something against Medúlla-style tracks, but I really don’t 🙏🏻 It’s just not usually the Björk sound I connect with the most.
5. Ancestress — 7/10
I love the idea of her making a song for her mother with her son involved. That is really poetic and beautiful. The lyrics are sad, and I definitely respect the emotional intention here. But if I’m being honest, the vocal performance didn’t fully hit me. The production is very maximal and big, but vocally it felt a little mid to me compared to what I know she can do.
Still, the concept behind the song is beautiful.
6. Fagurt Er í Fjörðum — 7/10
Good interlude. Didn’t do a lot for me on its own, but the transition into the next song was really smooth. I barely noticed the change at first.
7. Victimhood — 10/10
Fuck!! This one REALLY scared me. The atmosphere is so eerie and intimidating. Then the instruments come in super loud out of nowhere and start moving from side to side in my headphones. I genuinely got chills.
I couldn’t even focus properly on the lyrics because the atmosphere was so strong. It felt like she was singing something deep and important, but I was too busy just feeling the song and trying to process the production.
The beat switch-up in the bridge is really cool too. The beats on this and Atopos are incredible. This is not a song I’d casually put on while working, because I feel like I need the right mindset to go back into that atmosphere. But as an experience? Genius. Highlight. ⭐
8. Allow — 10/10
This one felt like it could’ve been on Utopia, and I mean that in a good way because I love Utopia! 💜 The flutes brought back that peaceful feeling from that album, and Björk's and Emilie Nicolas' vocals together here? SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL! Their voices sound really sweet that I almost cried, seriously! With headphones, you can hear the subtle beat behind the flutes, and it makes the song feel more alive and involving.
The ending is just heavenly. Really beautiful! This is easily one of my favorites from the album and one I want to revisit a lot. Massive highlight. ⭐
9. Fungal City — 10/10
This one sounds so magical, like Harry Potter or smt 😂 Earthy, cute, playful, and then suddenly the beat comes in and catches me completely off guard. I legit jumped in my chair! 😂
I loved the horns and flutes in this one, and then the violins in the mix made it even better! This felt like Utopia’s older sister. But then the beat in the chorus gave me something like Declare Independence meeting Utopia, which is such a weird combination but it worked for me. Really liked this one. Highlight. ⭐
10. Trölla-Gabba — 9/10
Medúlla’s evil twin! 😂 That’s basically it! I loved the chaotic and scary atmosphere. Such a sick interlude. It’s short, but it really works.
11. Freefall — 5/10
This sounded a bit like a Biophilia track to me, especially the outro.
Honestly, I didn’t feel this one much. Probably my least favorite from the album right now. It just didn’t connect with me.
12. Fossora — 10/10
Awesome production. I loved her vocals here and how the flutes and strings are complemented by the beat. This is one of those tracks where I’m like: only Björk can mix elements and genres like this and somehow make it work. It’s experimental, but still physical and exciting. And then the outro happened.
WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT OUTRO? 😭
It turns into a fucking rave. Every now and then she gives us a little glimpse of Pluto energy and I love it. Big highlight. ⭐
13. Her Mother’s House — 10/10
Oh wow... The vocals, the horns, the softness of it… this one really got me 🥹
I could hear a younger kind of Björk in her voice here, and that made it feel very beautiful and emotional. I also love that she brought both of her children into this album. There’s something very poetic about that. Ísadóra’s vocals are so beautiful!
And yeah, this one brought tears to my eyes. Finally, another Björk closer that got me emotionally. I’m so happy about that. Massive highlight.⭐
So yeah. Fossora.
This album definitely has highs and lows for me. It’s far from being a perfect album, and there are songs that didn’t really connect with me on a deeper level. But I’m fine with that...
At this point in the journey, I don’t think I need every Björk album to emotionally destroy me. I’m also here for her voice, her production, her weirdness, and her mastery in music.
And the production here is honestly incredible. Björk really keeps impressing me as a producer. I knew she produced a lot of her own music, but going through the whole discography made me respect that side of her even more.
Kasimyn on the rave tracks was a fucking god! 😆 Those were absolutely the highlights of the album for me. The beats were huge, moving, aggressive and intimidating. Some of these tracks are definitely going to my gym playlist 😂
I’m really happy and satisfied with this album. I want to listen to it again.
So this closes my first run through Björk’s main studio albums.
Current ranking of first-listens (many have been re-ranked already):
Post — 9.5 🩷 (probably at a 9.8 now)
Vespertine — 9.3 🤍 (this is a 9.7, Post is still my fav)
Vulnicura — 8.9 💛
Utopia — 8.6 💜
Debut — 8.5 🤎 (this one is past 9.5 at this point, I love it!)
Homogenic — 8.3 🩵 (this one definitely grew with time, it's a 9.5 as well, they are fighting for the top 3 position)
Volta — 8.3 ❤️ (this one is an 8.6 for sure!)
Fossora — 8.3 💚
Biophilia — 7.7
Medúlla — 7.4
But yeah. That’s it for the studio albums, at least for the first full run.
I’m a Björk fan. No coming back from it.
She’s definitely one of my favorite artists now, alongside Florence Welch, Lorde and Bring Me The Horizon.
Thank you to everyone who actually read these and commented, I felt very happy reading most of the comments (some don't, of course...), but it was an incredible experience and I loved that I could register everything here!
Just finished my first proper listen to Utopia.
This was actually one of the albums I was most curious about before even starting Björk’s discography, mainly because of the album cover. I had seen it before over the years and always thought: “what the fuck is this?” in the best way possible. It looked alien, organic, beautiful, unsettling, like something from another world. I honestly think this cover might have been one of the things that made me curious about Björk in the first place.
After Vulnicura, I was very curious to see where she would go emotionally. That album felt like a wound. Painful, open, dramatic, cinematic. So going into Utopia, I was wondering if this would feel like a continuation of that pain or something completely different.
And honestly, it was peaceful for sure!
Not a perfect, simple kind of peace. More like finding shelter after a massive storm. Like trying to build a new inner world after something sacred was destroyed.
Overall score for now: 8.6/10
1. Arisen My Senses — 8/10
This was a good opener. It sounds grand and definitely feels like a shift from the heaviness of Vulnicura. There is something very healing about the atmosphere here, like the album is immediately trying to breathe again after all that pain.
I liked it a lot, but it didn’t completely blow me away. It works really well as an opening statement though. It feels like Björk is re-entering the world, but in a lighter and more open way.
2. Blissing Me — 10/10
I loved this one immediately.
Her vocals here are so beautiful and ethereal. There is something very sweet and delicate about this song that made me feel like Vespertine and Debut had a child, which is obviously a very dangerous combination for me because I adore these two albums.
It feels intimate, but not in the same sexual/body way that Vespertine did. This feels more innocent, more curious, like the beginning of emotional connection after pain. The production is soft and beautiful, and her voice completely carries the feeling of the song for me. Huge highlight. ⭐
3. The Gate — 9/10
Beautiful intro. This song surprised me because it feels very peaceful, but still emotionally aware of everything that came before it.
She sounds at peace here, and that was really lovely to hear after Vulnicura. It almost feels like listening to “older Björk,” but not in a nostalgic way. More like a mature Björk who has gone through something devastating and is now trying to understand love from a different place.
I really liked this one. It didn’t fully become a 10 on first listen, but it feels important in the album.
4. Utopia — 10/10
This is one of the biggest highlights for me.
I genuinely felt like I was inside the world she was building. The flutes, the atmosphere, the production, the bird-like and nature feeling… it all made me feel like I was in a forest or some kind of strange peaceful paradise.
I loved how committed she was to this sound. The flutes are not just decoration here. They are the world of the album.
Her vocals feel light, beautiful and mature. I know this may sound dramatic, but this song gave me warmth in my heart. After the heaviness of Vulnicura, this actually felt like healing.
One thing that keeps surprising me about Björk is how good she is at making me feel what she wants me to feel. With Vulnicura, I felt pain. Here, I felt peace. She pulls you into the emotional world she is building and somehow makes it real. Massive highlight. ⭐
5. Body Memory — 7/10
The choirs coming in are beautiful, and the song definitely feels meditative. It sounds like she is contemplating a lot of things at once: life, instinct, body, memory, nature, motherhood, maybe even survival.
There is clearly a lot going on lyrically here, and I feel like this is one I’ll need more time with. On first listen, it wasn’t a favorite, but I can tell there is a lot to explore. Right now it is more interesting than emotionally strong for me. Could grow with time.
6. Features Creatures — 7/10
This one has a strange atmosphere. It feels eerie, but not scary. More like peaceful uneasiness.
I don’t have a huge emotional reaction to it yet, but I liked the mood. It feels like one of those tracks that might make more sense when I return to the album and understand its world better.
7. Courtship — 9/10
I really liked the transition from the previous track into this one. The production stood out a lot here. It has this detailed, playful, strange feeling that immediately caught my attention.
Her vocals are very sweet, and the song feels like it has a lot happening lyrically. Almost too much to fully catch on first listen. I didn’t know where to pay attention first, which usually means it is worth coming back to. The outro going into the next song was also really good. Highlight for sure. ⭐
8. Losss — 10/10
Oh shit! This was the moment where the album fully exploded for me.
This feels like Homogenic meeting Vespertine with Arca chaos thrown into the mix. The industrial sounds, the intensity of the production, the way the beats hit and then the flutes come back in… I loved everything about it.
The production in the outro is insane. The beats go so hard, but then the flutes are still there, keeping the album’s world intact. That contrast between aggression and beauty is exactly one of the things I love most in Björk’s music.
It feels like she is doing something completely new while also touching sounds she has explored before. It feels familiar and fresh at the same time. Fucking huge highlight. ⭐
9. Sue Me — 7/10
The beat and industrial elements mixed with the flutes and orchestral sounds are really interesting here. It feels like ugliness fighting against beauty. Like heartbreak and conflict interrupting the peace she has been trying to build.
I can hear a lot of genius in the production and concept, but emotionally I’m not very attached to the song yet. It does go hard though, and once again, I would not want to be Matthew Barney listening to this album.
10. Tabula Rasa — 7/10
This feels like the album returning to peace again.
The lyric “got the right to make your own fresh mistakes and not repeat others’ failures” is such a powerful message. I really liked the idea behind this song, especially in the context of moving forward and not passing damage down.
That said, it didn’t hit me super hard emotionally on first listen. I respect the message more than I connected with the song itself right now.
11. Claimstaker — 9/10
When she sang “this is my home,” my mind immediately went to The Anchor Song, which is one of my favorite Björk songs.
This song feels simple compared to some of the bigger tracks here, but I liked that simplicity. It feels like we reached the Utopia we were searching for throughout the album. It didn’t break me like The Anchor Song did on first listen, but I really appreciate where it sits in the narrative of the album. It feels like arriving somewhere.
12. Paradisia — 10/10
I love that she fully committed to this being the "flute album".
This interlude is beautiful. It builds and supports the whole atmosphere so perfectly. To me, it felt like after searching for this peaceful place throughout the album, we finally found it, and this track just lets us sit there for a moment and take it a in for a moment. It is simple, ethereal and peaceful. I know it is an interlude, but I loved it enough to give it a 10. Highlight. ⭐
13. Saint — 10/10
This one really got me! The beginning reminded me a little of Undo (my absolute favorite, I cry everytime I listen to it), and then the flutes came in and gave me chills. This song is beautiful.
“Music heals too, I’m here to defend it”
That line hit me really hard because this whole Björk journey has been making me feel that exact thing. Music does heal. Music does something to us that I honestly don’t even know how to explain sometimes.
This song felt like a direct statement of something I’ve been experiencing while going through her discography. I was speechless by the end. Big highlight. ⭐
14. Future Forever — 8/10
I was nervous for the closer, as always, because Björk’s closers have been very important to me throughout this journey.
This one didn’t destroy me, but I wasn’t disappointed either.
It closes the album peacefully, and the message is beautiful. It doesn’t have the emotional impact of something like Unison, All Is Full of Love, Headphones, or The Anchor Song for me, but it works for this album. It feels calm, hopeful and resolved.
So yeah. Utopia.
What a peaceful album!
It’s not her best album for me, but I do think it might have one of the most powerful messages out of everything I’ve heard so far. Some people might say that about Biophilia or other albums, but for me, nothing feels more powerful right now than the idea of finding peace with yourself after a huge moment of pain.
This album feels like finding shelter after a major storm. Like finally moving towards your own love instead of depending on the love you find in someone else.
Technically, I loved a lot of the production too. Arca did an incredible job again. The production stands out in many moments and really elevates the songs. Her vocals are not explosive here, but I understand that. It would not fit this album. Everything feels lighter, more careful, more airy.
It did not wreck me like Vespertine. It did not wound me like Vulnicura. It did not obsess me like Post. But it gave me something positive. It sparked warmth in me.
This is definitely an album I want to revisit. Not necessarily because it destroyed me and made me cry, but because I want to come back to this atmosphere and this feeling of peace.
Current ranking of first-listens for now (as I said, many of these have already changed):
Post — 9.5 🩷
Vespertine — 9.3 🤍
Vulnicura — 8.9 💛
Utopia — 8.6 💜
Debut — 8.5 🤎 (this one is already above 9 for sure 🥰)
Homogenic — 8.3 🩵 (this one is DEFINITELY above 9, reaching that top 3 position for sure, yeah, I get the hype now)
Volta — 8.3 ❤️
Biophilia — 7.7
Medúlla — 7.4
Just finished my first proper listen to Vulnicura!
^(Before anything: English isn’t my first language, so I do use tools sometimes to help me organize/translate my thoughts better, but these reactions are) ^(mine. These are) ^(my notes,) ^(my scores,) ^(my emotional reactions,) ^(my own experience) ^(going through Björk’s discography) ^(for the first time) ^(just in case another dipshit comes here to trash me just because I didn't like his precious little album.) 🙄
And this one… wow.
I was not expecting Vulnicura to hit me like this.
A little personal background: two breakup albums are very important to me. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + the Machine, which I listened to right after a breakup and connected with so deeply that I even got a tattoo related to it. And Melodrama by Lorde, which also came into my life around the end of another relationship and became extremely personal to me.
So when I heard Vulnicura was Björk’s “breakup album,” I was excited, but also curious. I thought maybe I was about to get another album in that kind of emotional space.
But this is different.
This doesn’t feel like just a breakup album. This feels like a wreck. A family collapsing. A sacred structure being destroyed. A relationship ending, yes, but also something much bigger: motherhood, family, home, trust, the future, everything breaking apart at the same time.
I’m currently in the happiest relationship of my life, almost getting married, so I’m not listening to this from a place of current heartbreak. But somehow this album still made me feel the pain very clearly. That’s what impressed me the most. It didn’t need to match my life right now for me to understand the wound.
Overall score for now: 8.9/10 ⭐
1. Stonemilker — 10/10
What a beautiful opening. The strings immediately pulled me in. I could hear the sadness in her voice right away. It feels like she is trying to communicate with someone who is already emotionally gone, and that is such a painful feeling.
The production is gorgeous. There is something about this song that reminded me a little of the emotional beauty I love in Vespertine, but this time it feels heavier and sadder. The outro with the violins is heavenly. It made me scared to raise my expectations too much because if the album was starting like this, I knew I was in danger emotionally. Huge highlight. ⭐
2. Lionsong — 8/10
The vocal layering here is really beautiful. The lyrics are so vulnerable. It sounds like she is waiting, hoping, trying to understand whether there is still something to save. That kind of uncertainty is brutal.
The line “somehow I’m not too bothered, I’d just like to know” really stayed with me. It feels like someone trying to sound calm while clearly being destroyed inside.
I also got this strange “siren” feeling from some of the vocals, like she is warning herself that something is wrong in the relationship. I liked this one a lot lyrically, but it didn’t fully blow me away on first listen. Very solid 8, and I can see it growing.
3. History of Touches — 8/10
The production here sounds bizarre in a really cool way. It feels intimate, but also unstable. The lyrics are very direct and physical, especially with lines like “feel you naked,” but it doesn’t feel sexy in the same way Vespertine felt sexy. Here it truly feels like someone trying to hold onto the last physical memories of a relationship that is already ending.
I could really picture those final months before the breakup, where things are still happening physically but emotionally everything is already weird and broken (been there). She transmits that feeling very well. Not a massive highlight for me yet, but I really respect what this song does.
4. Black Lake — 9/10
This song is impressive.
The beat during the breakdown with the strings caught me completely off guard. It is experimental and dramatic, but it never feels random. The honesty in the lyrics is what really got me.
“Family was always our sacred mutual mission which you abandoned” is such a direct and devastating line. There is no hiding behind metaphor there. It is just pain, accusation and grief.
And then the “glowing shiny rocket” part is beautiful. I read it as this image of burning away the layers of pain while returning to yourself. Like going through the atmosphere and losing the hard shell the relationship created around you.
It is a 10-minute song, but I honestly didn’t feel the length. It didn’t fully break me enough to be a 10 yet, but it is absolutely a highlight. ⭐
5. Family — 10/10
Holy shit!
The beat in the beginning genuinely scared me because I had my headphones at maximum. This album kept catching me off guard, and this was one of the biggest moments.
This song feels like a sacred temple being destroyed. That is the image I had in my head while listening. It perfectly matches the idea of a family structure collapsing. Not just a romantic relationship ending, but something bigger and almost holy being broken.
The dramatic switch-up in the bridge caught me off guard again, and then the heavenly instrumental section later in the song felt like healing. The ending is so beautiful and ethereal after all that chaos.
This song basically gives me everything I love in Björk: chaos and beauty, destruction and healing, electronic darkness and ethereal release. I was speechless by the end. Massive highlight. ⭐
6. Notget — 10/10
The production here is insane. The beats near the end of the third verse gave me literal chills.
This song made me think: Matthew Barney, what the hell did you do to this woman? I would not have wanted to be in his skin when this album came out.
“Love will keep us safe from death” has such an incredible weight in this context. I don’t have children, so I can’t fully know what it feels like when someone leaves not only their partner but also breaks the family structure around a child. But somehow this album gives me a glimpse of the immensity of that feeling.
The song feels huge, painful and dramatic. Another major highlight. ⭐
7. Atom Dance — 9/10
The production is a massive standout here. Honestly, I was so pulled into the production of this album that sometimes I was afraid I wasn’t taking in the songs as a whole.
At first I wasn’t fully feeling this track, but the switch-up around the middle really changed it for me. That moment was genius. It opened the song up and made me pay much more attention.
This one feels like it could grow even more with time. I really liked it.
8. Mouth Mantra — 10/10
The beat goes so fucking hard. Again, headphones here make a huge difference!
Usually weird production doesn’t hit me this immediately on a first listen, but this one did. Arca really went crazy here. The production feels chaotic, detailed, uncomfortable and beautiful all at once.
The vocals are incredible too. Knowing the song connects to her voice/throat makes it even more intense, because it genuinely feels like she is fighting through sound. Like she is compensating for having lost control of something central to her expression.
The electronic production with the strings in the outro is flawless. This is one of those tracks where good headphones make a huge difference. Big highlight. ⭐
9. Quicksand — 6/10
This is where the album disappointed me a bit.
The intro beat is wild. I genuinely thought for a second that she was about to close the album with some massive chaotic banger like Earth Intruders or something in that direction.
But then the song went somewhere else, and I don’t know… it didn’t really work for me as a whole on first listen.
The production is hard as fuck by itself, but I didn’t feel like it fit the song completely. I was so excited for the closer because this album was almost perfect to me, and then the ending left me a little unsatisfied.
Maybe it will click later, and I’m open to that as always. But right now, this is not going on my playlist.
So yeah. Vulnicura.
I was not expecting this.
What impressed me most is that this album doesn’t just tell you about pain. It puts you inside the open wound.
The lyrics are brutally honest. Sometimes almost too honest. It doesn’t feel like storytelling from a safe distance. It feels like she is sharing the wound while it is still bleeding.
The production is cinematic, dramatic and huge. In a way, this feels like the opposite of Vespertine. Vespertine was intimate, warm, sensual and private. Vulnicura is also intimate, but in the most painful way. It is loud, exposed, uncomfortable and broken (by the way, I only got the concept of the album cover now, didn't notice the chest wound 😅)
The vocals are vulnerable, painful and beautiful. Nothing surprising there, because at this point I know I can always expect Björk to deliver vocally, but this album really uses her voice as emotional damage.
And Arca is such a strong addition here. I was already curious about the next albums, but now I’m even more excited because this collaboration really worked for me.
This is not an album where I feel like “maybe I need to listen more before I know how I feel.” No. I immediately know I like this album.
Was I disappointed with the closer? Yes.
But the album itself has so many highlights that I am already dying to listen to it again with headphones, in silence, in the dark, and fully immerse myself in this pain.
It is painful, but it is genius.
Current ranking of first-listens (much has changed now, Homogenic and Debut are above 9 now 😅):
Post — 9.5 🩷
Vespertine — 9.3 🤍
Vulnicura — 8.9 💛
Debut — 8.5 🤎
Homogenic — 8.3 🩵
Volta — 8.3 ❤️
Biophilia — 7.7
Medúlla — 7.4
After Volta surprised me in a really good way, I finally moved on to Biophilia.
And honestly… I don’t fully know how I feel about this one yet.
This is probably the first Björk album where my reaction is not exactly “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” It feels more like I’m standing in front of something very interesting, very well thought out, very beautiful conceptually… but I don’t know if it reached me emotionally on first listen.
The whole idea of connecting natural phenomena, science, music, emotion and human experience is beautiful. I love the concept. I love the ambition. But as an actual listening experience, I felt a little distant from it for most of the album.
Overall score for now: 7.7/10
1. Moon — 6/10
I liked the lyrics here. The message is beautiful and I can see how this works thematically as an opener, but musically it didn’t hit me very hard. The production is simple and pretty, but on first listen it felt more melancholic than captivating. It opens the album with a clear mood, but not in a way that immediately pulled me in.
2. Thunderbolt — 7/10
The Tesla coil bassline idea is really interesting, especially because it fits so well with the whole natural phenomena concept of the album. I liked the vocals and the choir, and there are definitely moments where the production becomes darker and more sinister in a way I really enjoyed. Honestly, I kind of wish the whole song leaned more into that darker sound from the last chorus. If it had that energy throughout, I think it would’ve stood out more to me on first listen.
3. Crystalline — 8/10
This one has really weird production, and I mean that in a good way. I liked the experimental feeling of it, although I did wish the production was more present during the chorus. But then the ending happened and… wow. The dubstep part genuinely caught me off guard in the best way. As someone who likes Skrillex, hearing that kind of chaotic electronic breakdown in a Björk track was very satisfying. Not quite a highlight for me yet, but definitely one of the more exciting moments on the album.
4. Cosmogony — 9/10
Beautiful song. The chorus with the choir feels huge and cosmic, but not in an obvious explosive way. It feels lonely and spacious, like looking at the universe from very far away. I really enjoyed the horns slowly growing and then disappearing again. I love when Björk uses horns and orchestral elements, and here they add so much to the atmosphere. The ending also surprised me — everything suddenly went down into this darker, mysterious place and genuinely made me feel a little scared. Highlight for sure. ⭐
5. Dark Matter — 7/10
Very eerie, dark and ambient. The vocal distortion is creepy in a really interesting way. I can understand why this track has its defenders because it definitely creates a mood, but on first listen I admired the atmosphere more than I emotionally connected with it. It feels mysterious and strange, but still distant to me right now.
6. Hollow — 8/10
The intro here is really strong. Dark, eerie, mysterious, cinematic. The production immediately stood out to me. Then the switch into the more upbeat production during the second verse caught me off guard. I’m still not completely sure how I feel about this song. There are parts I really like, especially the atmosphere and production, but other parts didn’t fully land for me yet. Right now it’s an 8, but I can definitely see this becoming a 9 with more listens.
7. Virus — 8/10
I really liked the instrumentation on this one. It’s simple and beautiful, and the vocalizations between the verses were probably my favorite part. I also liked the message in the lyrics. It didn’t have a massive emotional impact on me, but it’s a very pretty and well-crafted song. One of those tracks I respect and enjoy, even if it didn’t fully overwhelm me.
8. Sacrifice — 6/10
Nice vocal layering here, but for most of the track the production felt a little timid to me. Then suddenly, around the later verses, the production became aggressive out of nowhere and I immediately paid more attention. That aggressive part came back again in the outro, and that was definitely the standout element of the track for me. But overall, it didn’t do much for me emotionally. There are interesting moments, but as a full song it didn’t fully grab me.
9. Mutual Core — 10/10
Now THIS is the one.
The beat goes fucking hard. The production is aggressive, the songwriting is strong, the vocals are beautiful, and everything finally clicked for me in the way I was hoping the album would. This is easily the best track on the album for me right now.
What I loved most is how physical the song feels. The concept of tectonic plates and emotional tension actually becomes something you can feel in the production. It’s aggressive, dramatic and powerful without losing the beauty of her voice. Huge highlight. ⭐
10. Solstice — 8/10
I was nervous going into the closer because Björk’s album closers have been a big thing for me throughout this journey. Some of them completely destroyed me emotionally, so I always go into the last track hoping for that final moment.
This one is weirdly peaceful. The lyrics and vocals are beautiful, and I do think it works as a delicate ending. But emotionally, it didn’t grab me the way some of her other closers did. I wish it had kept going a little longer because it ended pretty abruptly for me. It feels like there’s something missing, but I still think it’s beautiful and could grow with time.
So… Biophilia.
What an interesting album.
I really don’t know exactly how to feel yet. It’s not an album where I can simply say “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” It feels like the kind of album that needs to marinate a little. On first listen, it didn’t have many immediate standouts for me, but with Björk I’ve already learned that this can change very quickly. Homogenic is probably the biggest example of that for me.
Did I connect with this album emotionally? Not really.
Can I see myself connecting with it later? Maybe.
The concept is amazing. Writing about natural phenomena and connecting them to human emotion, relationships and life itself is a beautiful idea. It really does show how connected we are to the world around us. I think depending on where you are in life, this album could probably hit much harder.
For me right now, though, it didn’t fully speak to me on that deeper emotional level.
I was mostly here for the production, which is definitely interesting and often incredible. The experimentation with electronic music, especially moments like the dubstep ending of Crystalline and the aggression of Mutual Core, really caught my attention. Part of me wishes she had explored that side even more.
At the same time, I understand why she didn’t let those moments completely dominate the album. The subject matter is dense and conceptual, and maybe going too hard with the electronic chaos would have taken too much space away from the atmosphere she was building.
So I’m kind of split.
I appreciate the experimentation, but I also wanted more of it.
Right now, Biophilia feels like a beautiful concept that I respect more than I emotionally love. It’s not my least favorite Björk album so far, but it might be the one I feel most uncertain about.
Current ranking for now:
Post — 9.5 🩷
Vespertine — 9.3 🤍
Debut — 8.5 🤎
Homogenic — 8.3
Volta — 8.3
Biophilia — 7.7
Medúlla — 7.4
After Medúlla, I’ll be honest: I was a little worried going into Volta.
Not because I expected to hate it, but because after reading a lot of comments online, I saw many people ranking it pretty low, sometimes close to Medúlla. And since Medúlla was the first Björk album that I respected more than I actually wanted to revisit, I was kind of preparing myself for another “interesting, but not really for me” experience.
Thankfully, that was not the case at all.
Volta surprised me a lot.
This album feels colorful, physical, loud, earthy and messy in a way I actually really enjoyed. It’s not perfect, and I don’t think it reaches the emotional or artistic level of something like Post, Vespertine or Homogenic, but honestly? It did a number on me. I had way more fun with it than I expected.
Overall score for now: 8.3/10
1. Earth Intruders — 10/10
What a start. The intro already pulled me in, but when the beat fully came in I was immediately hooked. The production here is so good. It feels big, tribal, layered, chaotic and very Björk at the same time.
I was a bit skeptical when I saw Timbaland involved in this album because I wasn’t sure if his style would actually fit Björk. I was worried it might sound like Timbaland invading her music with a very recognizable 2000s pop beat, but that’s not what happened here at all. This doesn’t feel like “Björk doing SexyBack.” It feels like Timbaland’s rhythm being absorbed into Björk’s universe.
Her vocals are also exactly the kind of Björk vocals I love: strange, powerful, playful and commanding. I honestly couldn’t even focus that much on the lyrics on first listen because the whole song as a sound experience had me completely involved. Big highlight. ⭐
2. Wanderlust — 9/10
The mix of tribal percussion with the horns is really interesting. This song feels earthy, but also adventurous, like it’s grounded and explorative at the same time.
The vocal layering is one of the things that stood out to me the most here. Just two tracks into Volta and I already felt like her vocals were hitting me much harder than they did on Medúlla, which is funny considering Medúlla was literally the voice album. This one has that feeling of movement and expansion that I really enjoy in Björk’s music.
3. The Dull Flame of Desire — 8/10
I really liked Anohni’s voice here. The contrast between her voice and Björk’s sweeter delivery is beautiful. The song is very minimal in terms of production, but I think that works because the voices are clearly meant to be the main focus.
It does feel like it’s constantly building toward something huge that never fully arrives, but weirdly I don’t mean that as a bad thing. There’s something satisfying about the restraint. The drums becoming more aggressive toward the ending were probably my favorite part about the instrumental. It’s a bit long for me right now, which is why it’s not higher, but I can definitely see this becoming a 9 with more listens.
4. Innocence — 9/10
Oh shit, this production caught me completely off guard.
The intro is aggressive and weird in a way I really liked. It almost reminded me of something like Death Grips in how harsh and mechanical it feels, but then Björk’s vocals come in and make it beautiful at the same time. That contrast worked really well for me.
This is one of those tracks where the beat feels almost violent, but the song still has this strange sense of beauty underneath. Her vocals are heavenly here, and the production gives the song so much attitude. Definitely a highlight. ⭐
5. I See Who You Are — 8/10
This one is beautiful. The instrumentation is delicate and warm, and I really liked the vocal moments toward the ending. Then when the orchestra comes in near the end, it becomes even more emotional and beautiful.
Right now it’s an 8 for me, but it feels like one of those songs that could easily become a 9, maybe even a 10 later. It didn’t destroy me immediately, but there’s a lot of beauty here, and I can already feel there’s more to uncover with time. Highlight for me even if the score is still an 8. ⭐
6. Vertebræ by Vertebræ — 10/10
Wow. This one was probably one of the biggest surprises on the album for me.
The beat sounds eerie and massive, almost like final boss music. It genuinely reminded me a little of Sephiroth’s theme from Final Fantasy VII, just in the sense that it feels dark, mysterious and threatening.
And Björk’s vocals here? Fucking awesome. The screams before the bridge are so aggressive and beautiful at the same time. This song feels like a beast slowly waking up. It’s dark, weird and intense in a way that really connects with the heavier side of my music taste. Big highlight. ⭐
7. Pneumonia — 8/10
The intro is beautiful. I love the horns and how sweetly she sings here. This song feels sad and meditative, almost like it’s moving very slowly through grief or exhaustion.
The way the horns grow along with her voice is gorgeous. It didn’t hit me as hard as some other songs, but I really appreciated the atmosphere. It’s one of the quieter moments on the album that still felt meaningful to me.
8. Hope — 7/10
I like the beat here a lot. Again, Timbaland really stands out when he shows up on this album. The production has this subtle rhythm that kept my attention, and I liked the string/chord instrument that sneaks into the song.
That said, I didn’t feel super attached to the song itself. The lyrics seem powerful, but on first listen I wasn’t fully drawn into it emotionally. The production is definitely the strongest part for me here.
9. Declare Independence — 8/10
What the fuck is this song?
This one really confused me, in a good way and maybe also in a not-so-good way. The production is insane. The noises creeping in, the build-up, the screams, the aggressive energy… it genuinely ruined my ears of how loud it is.
It feels like something between industrial music, electronic chaos, protest music and maybe even some weird rap/metal energy. The Bring Me The Horizon fan in me definitely enjoyed the screaming and heaviness of it.
At the same time, I still don’t fully know how I feel about it. There are parts I really like, and parts where I’m like “what am I even listening to?” I almost wanted her to push it even further into a rock/riot kind of direction because that’s the energy the song gave me.
So right now it’s an 8, but this score is not definite. It could go down or it could grow on me a lot. Either way, it absolutely stands out. ⭐
10. My Juvenile — 7/10
This was a complicated closer for me.
The song is clearly personal and sad, and I understand the emotional intention behind it. She’s trying to mend things with her son, and that made me feel kind of bad while listening. There’s a lot of tenderness here.
But as an album closer, I was honestly a bit disappointed.
Björk’s closers have been such huge moments for me so far: The Anchor Song, Headphones, All Is Full of Love, Unison… even Triumph of a Heart had a strong identity as a closer. So after the chaos of Declare Independence, I was expecting something bigger or more emotionally overwhelming to end the album.
Instead, this one felt smaller and sadder. I respect the message, but in terms of how it closes the album, it didn’t fully satisfy me on first listen. Maybe I need more time with it, but right now it’s her weakest closer for me.
So yeah. Volta.
I’m really glad I went through a more disappointing experience with Medúlla before this, because it made Volta hit even harder in contrast. After Medúlla, I was craving production, movement, vocal power and songs I actually wanted to replay. Volta gave me a lot of that.
The production on this album is honestly top-notch. I went in skeptical about the Timbaland/Danja involvement, but I’m glad I was wrong, because every time that kind of production showed up, it worked way better than I expected. It didn’t erase Björk’s identity. It just gave her another kind of physical energy to play with.
And the vocals here… yeah, Medúlla doesn’t stand a chance for me personally. I know that sounds ironic because Medúlla is literally centered around voices, but Volta gave me the kind of vocal power I was hoping to hear there. High notes, layers, aggression, softness, weirdness, beauty — she really showed up vocally on this album.
This isn’t my favorite Björk album, and I don’t think it compares to her absolute strongest work, but it is way better than I expected. It has bangers, it has weirdness, it has strong production, and it made me want to come back for more.
For now, my ranking remains:
1. Post — 9.5 🩷
2. Vespertine — 9.3 🤍
3. Debut — 8.5 🤎
4. Homogenic — 8.3
5. Volta — 8.3
6. Medúlla — 7.4
I do think Debut and Homogenic may rise when I eventually rescore everything, especially because Homogenic has been growing on me a lot lately. But I’ll leave the ranking as it is for now until I finish the full album journey.
Volta was a very pleasant surprise.
So I've been writing and sharing my personal experience listening to Björk's discography one by one, for the first time ever and after the emotional/intimate experience I had with Vespertine, I finally moved on to Medúlla.
And honestly… this was a weird one for me.
I knew going in that this was the “voice album,” mostly built around vocals, choirs, beatboxing, throat singing and vocal textures. That concept alone made me excited because Björk’s voice is obviously one of the most unique things about her music. After Vespertine, I was expecting something completely different, and I respect her a lot for not just making “Vespertine 2.”
But even though I respect the idea and execution of this album, I didn’t emotionally connect with it as much as I hoped I would.
Overall score for now: 7.4/10
1. Pleasure Is All Mine — 7/10
Very eerie opener. The all-vocal approach immediately makes the album feel different from everything I’ve heard from her so far. I like the atmosphere and I think it sets the tone well, but it didn’t fully blow me away. It felt more interesting than addictive to me.
2. Show Me Forgiveness — 6/10
Not much to say here honestly. It’s simple and intimate, but for me it didn’t showcase her voice in a way that really grabbed me. Especially coming right after an opener that already felt more “interesting” than exciting to me, this one felt a bit too plain. Not bad, just not very memorable on first listen.
3. Where Is the Line — 10/10
Now THIS is what I was waiting for. This one goes fucking hard. The beatboxing is awesome, the choir sounds angelic but also mysterious and eerie, and Björk’s vocals ride the rhythm so well. This song has the energy and tension I wanted from the album. It feels aggressive, strange and powerful in a way that immediately caught me. Huge highlight. ⭐
4. Vökuró — 7/10
Beautiful vocals. Even though I don’t understand the language, the performance itself feels delicate and emotional. Looking at the translation, I found it to be a beautiful lullaby, and I can definitely feel that softness in the song. The background vocals also add something slightly sinister underneath the beauty, which I liked. Still, it didn’t hit me deeply enough to rank higher right now.
5. Öll Birtan — 9/10
This one surprised me a lot. It’s so simple, but the vocal performance makes it feel much more powerful than I expected. It’s funny because this one repeats much less lyrically than “Show Me Forgiveness,” but it worked way better for me emotionally. The vocals really mean something here. This is the kind of vocal interlude I expected from an album like this.
6. Who Is It — 6/10
The intro is great. The power of her voice at the beginning is genuinely impressive, and the beatboxing is obviously amazing. Rahzel is incredible. But the song itself didn’t really come through for me. It started strong, but then I felt like it didn’t fully follow through emotionally or sonically. I know this is probably one of the more accessible tracks here, but for some reason it didn’t connect with me the way I expected.
7. Submarine — 5/10
This one was kind of meh for me. Nothing really drew my attention strongly. I didn’t feel much emotionally, and there weren’t enough sonic details that made me want to return to it. It just passed by.
8. Desired Constellation — 7/10
Nice vocal performance, especially in the chorus. This also felt like one of the first songs where I could hear something closer to actual instrumentation, or at least vocals transformed into something more produced. The little clicks in the production reminded me a bit of the more minimal production of Vespertine, which I liked. That said, part of me wanted more harmonization in some sections. The chorus, especially toward the ending, carries the song for me.
9. Oceania — 7/10
Great vocals here. The raspy higher vocal moments sounded pure and almost divine. I can appreciate the execution and the concept, but I still felt kind of out of touch with the album emotionally at this point. I respect what she’s doing, but I wasn’t having the same strong feelings I had with previous albums.
10. Sonnets / Unrealities XI — 9/10
Beautiful lyrics and beautiful performance. I really liked the choir following her on this one. It feels elegant and emotional in a way that worked for me immediately. This was one of the stronger moments where the vocal concept actually gave me the beauty I was hoping for. ⭐
11. Ancestors — 9/10
What the fuck?
That was basically my reaction. I got chills. I was scared and impressed at the same time. Björk’s harmonizations are beautiful, but the Inuit throat singing makes the whole track feel eerie and almost frightening. I don’t know if this is something I’d casually replay often, but as an experience? It absolutely worked. It’s so weird that I kind of loved it. Huge highlight. ⭐
12. Mouth’s Cradle — 5/10
This one didn’t do much for me. Sorry 😭
I know there may be more going on here, but on first listen it didn’t emotionally or sonically stand out enough for me.
13. Miðvikudags — 7/10
Queen of gibberish. Another vocal interlude, but I actually preferred it over some of the full tracks. It’s short, strange and fits the album’s atmosphere. Not a major highlight, but I liked it more than I expected.
14. Triumph of a Heart — 9/10
Very fun closer. Even though it’s built around vocals and beatboxing, it feels surprisingly dancey. The beatbox production moving left and right gives the song a lot of motion, and I liked that a lot. It almost sounds like it could have had a huge EDM-style production behind it, but instead she keeps everything within the vocal concept. Cool, playful, funny and energetic. Definitely a highlight. ⭐
So… Medúlla.
I respect it more than I love it.
There’s definitely a level of “hmm, interesting” throughout the album, and I understand why she would make something like this after Vespertine. If someone is going through her discography in sequence, it would be easy to expect another intimate, beautiful, sensual album in that same direction. Instead, she goes completely somewhere else. I respect that a lot.
But if I’m being fully honest, this is not an album I’m craving to revisit right now.
And it’s not even because of the “all vocals” concept. I was actually excited for that. My issue is that I expected more vocal power, more emotional depth, and maybe more complexity in the lyricism. Since the album is built so much around the human voice, I expected to hear Björk really push her voice further, because I already know she can do incredible things vocally.
But a lot of the time, it felt like she was pulling back when I wanted her to go bigger. Maybe that was the point, and maybe I’ll understand it better later, but on first listen, the strongest tracks for me were definitely the ones where the vocal performances felt powerful, strange, scary or emotionally direct.
I also read that some people view this as one of her more political albums, but I didn’t feel that very strongly myself. And honestly, that’s fine with me because I usually connect more with intimacy, personal emotion and inner worlds than with broader political themes in music.
Compared to Homogenic, which didn’t fully consume me emotionally but still made me want to return to it, Medúlla feels different. Even the highlights don’t immediately make me crave the whole album again right now.
So for now, this is probably my least favorite Björk album so far.
But with Björk, I’m learning not to fully count anything out. Some songs that initially confused me later became obsessions. So who knows? Maybe this one will reveal itself more with time.
Right now though, I’m much more excited to move forward in the discography than I am to replay this one.
So my current Björk ranking so far is:
After completely falling in love with Post and still trying to fully unlock Homogenic emotionally, I finally sat down properly with Vespertine.
And honestly, I don’t even know how to describe what this album feels like.
It doesn’t feel “big” in the traditional way. It’s not explosive like Post or super experimental like Homogenic. It feels more intimate for sure. Like music made for the inside of your body instead of the outside world. Every little sound matters here. Simple instrumental, whispers, choirs, breathing, strings, little electronic textures hidden everywhere. It truly feels she transformed intimacy into sound, this is genius!
What shocked me the most is how emotionally and physically immersive this album is. Some songs genuinely made me shiver and have goosebumps, others made me uncomfortable, others made me feel warm and safe, and some honestly... turned me on 🫣
This album feels deeply sensual, but not in a provocative way. The sexuality here feels emotional, vulnerable, trusting and mostly spiritual for me at times. It’s honestly one of the most intimate albums I’ve ever heard in my life.
Overall score for now: 9.3/10 ⭐
This album honestly shocked me.
I was not expecting something this quiet and intimate to affect me this deeply emotionally and physically. What fascinates me most is how sensual the album is while still feeling emotionally pure and vulnerable at the same time. Nothing here feels shallow. Every emotion feels deeply connected to intimacy, trust, emotional surrender and closeness.
At this point, Post still barely holds the #1 spot for me emotionally because of how important it became in my journey discovering Björk.
But Vespertine?
This feels like the first Björk album that completely entered my nervous system!
Again, I’m still just starting my journey with Björk, so I genuinely feel like a lot of these songs could become even bigger for me with time. That’s already happened multiple times while going through her discography. Songs I initially thought were just “interesting” suddenly became songs I couldn’t stop thinking about after a few listens.
But honestly, the fact I’m giving so many high scores already on basically first real attentive listens says a lot by itself.
This whole experience has been kind of magical to me.
I feel like I’m rediscovering what music can actually do. I had this feeling before with Florence + the Machine and Lorde, where suddenly music stopped being just “songs I like” and started feeling emotional, cinematic and personal in a deeper way.
But Björk… This feels different. I genuinely feel like someone discovering music for the first time again, and I’m honestly kind of in love with her and this whole experience 🤍
After completely falling in love with Post, moving into Homogenic felt almost shocking.
Where Post felt chaotic, playful and constantly shape-shifting, Homogenic immediately felt cold, massive and emotionally intense. It sounds like nature, but not the comforting kind — more like volcanic landscapes, glaciers, storms, isolation. You can really understand what Björk meant when she said she wanted the album to sound like Iceland.
This was also the first Björk album where I started realizing something important about my own taste: I emotionally connect much more to movement, contrast and replayability than to pure sonic cohesion. Because while I absolutely respect and admire Homogenic, and fully understand why so many people consider it her masterpiece, I’m still not emotionally attached to the whole album the same way I became attached to Post.
That said, some moments on this album are genuinely unbelievable.
Overall score: 8.3/10
So here we are at the end of what many people consider Björk’s masterpiece.
And honestly? I completely understand why.
The production is unbelievable. The atmosphere is unique. The emotional identity of the album is incredibly strong. It genuinely feels like an entire frozen emotional world captured into music.
But at this moment in my journey, I still don’t love it the same way I love Post.
With Post, I constantly feel pulled back into the entire album experience. With Homogenic, I feel more attached to individual emotional monuments within the album — songs like Jóga, Pluto and All Is Full of Love — rather than the complete experience front to back.
And I think that’s okay.
One thing I’m learning very quickly with Björk is that her albums don’t always reveal themselves immediately. Some songs that initially felt strange to me later became obsessions.
So while Homogenic hasn’t fully consumed me emotionally yet, I absolutely feel like it’s an album I’ll keep returning to throughout my life to discover new things inside it.
After finishing Debut, I moved on to Post — the album that actually started my whole Björk journey.
This was the first Björk album I ever listened to, and honestly, my first reaction was confusion mixed with fascination. I didn’t fully understand what I was hearing. The production felt chaotic, the genres were constantly shifting, and Björk’s voice sounded unlike anything I was used to.
But then something weird happened.
Every single time I came back to the album, another song clicked. Then another. Then another. Songs I initially thought were strange suddenly became addictive. Songs I barely noticed started becoming emotional highlights. And eventually, I realized I couldn’t go a single day without listening to this album.
At this point, I can safely say this album changed the way I experience music.
Overall score: 9.5/10
What makes Post so special to me is that it feels completely alive.
It’s messy. Playful. Aggressive. Sensual. Sad. Theatrical. Weird. Loud. Intimate. Chaotic. Peaceful.
Every song feels like its own emotional universe while somehow still feeling connected through Björk’s personality and vision.
And honestly, I think this was the album where I stopped “trying to understand Björk” and simply started feeling her music instead.
At this point, I genuinely can’t imagine my life without this album anymore.
No one probably cares or will read this but I feel like writing this down just for the sake of registering this moment.
So, I recently decided to finally dive properly into Björk’s discography.
For years I kept hearing artists and music fans talk about her like she was this untouchable genius, this alien-like creative force that completely changed experimental music. I was curious, but also intimidated. I mostly came from more mainstream music, so Björk initially sounded very strange to me.
I started with Post and honestly? At first I was confused more than impressed. But then I listened again. And again. And again. And somehow the songs started opening themselves up more every time until eventually I realized I was obsessed with the album.
That experience made me want to do something different with her music. Instead of rushing through her discography, I decided to go album by album, slowly, replaying them multiple times, writing my thoughts down in real time and letting the music sink into me naturally.
So here’s my first proper listen/review of Debut.
Overall score: 8.5/10
What surprised me most about this album is how different it is from the Björk I thought I knew after listening to Post, Homogenic and Vespertine first. I wasn’t expecting so much dance music influence, jazz, club music and 90s energy.
But what I’m realizing is that even this early into her solo career, all the things people love about Björk were already there:
And honestly, I’m starting to understand why people become obsessed with her music.
She’s one of those artists where the songs don’t always hit immediately… but once they do, they start living inside your brain permanently.
I'll be posting my personal experience with all the next albums as I go through them. Again, if anyone care, which I don't think so and that's fine 😅
