POST

Bjork's second released album Post came out in 1995. Post was massively influenced by trip-hop and house, likely due to Bjork's work with various producers in that genre. While Bjork's previous album Debut had one co-producer, Nellee Hooper, Post had four. During the making of her previous album, Bjork lived in London, where she would go explore the club scene often at the time. During this, Bjork found herself to be more "extroverted", making many friends in the scene. This had influenced the sound of Post, some calling it a more "extroverted" album compared to Debut.

ARMY OF ME

Army of me is the first song you hear on Post. Famously known for it's Locrian mode bassline, the song uses drum samples from Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks". Bjork says she wrote it about her brother, "My younger brother was having a bit of a crazy period at the time, so I wrote this for him. It is sort of a big sister telling little brother off song." Army of Me does a good job of being perfectly threatening while coming from a place of care.

Personally, I think it does what it needs to do. It's aggressive, interesting, but not my favorite song of hers, despite it being very popular. The music video is cute, and reminds me a lot of Human Behavior off of Debut. Musically, it seems like it would fit perfectly in a Matrix AMV. I won't skip it if it came up, but I wouldn't go searching for it. 7/10

HYPERBALLAD

Hyperballad tells a story of someone in a relationship with another person, while they both live on top of a mountain. Before our narrator's partner wakes up, they go out on the edge of the mountain and throw various objects off the side to vent their frustrations. Sometimes even imagining themselves committing suicide by throwing themselves off of the mountain. Not necessarily out of a want to commit suicide, but out of general morbid thinking. So that this person can turn around and go back to their lover and feel content to be comfortable with them. The music itself contains soaring strings and the dance-y beat compared with the lyrics makes it quite an experience.

I LOVE this song. If you're just beginning to listen to Bjork, I'd say this is a good setup for the rest of her discography. The subject matter is definitely heavier than some others on this album but you want to jump around at the same time. The strings add a very bittersweet feeling to the entire song and the chorus lead reinforces the sort of "crying in the club" atmosphere. Her vocal dynamics also feels very good here. In the verse she's quietly explaining the story, like she's indulging a secret to someone close to her, then in the chorus she's loudly expressing the emotional toll this situation, almost like she's got into a fight with this person and can't stand it anymore. Good song for a sad baby Bjork-er. 9/10

THE MODERN THINGS

The Modern Things is a track in both English and Icelandic. Describing how the minerals in the earth that have been turned into our modern day automobile or computer have always existed. How there has been something, like your cellphone, during pre-historic times just deconstructed and in its rawest form waiting for the human brain to build it into something else. The translated icelandic lyrics go as follows:

"No one pays much attention to us

The sun sets

Nobody knows how to pull out the best of me

It’s sunny when he

Delivers a vital breath

He bites me

Yes, he approaches me

He follows after me

Waits

flies by me"

Bjork's vocals on this track are a great display of her ability to make very strange sounds like her famous "dolphin"-ish noise and her almost yodeling.

I think this song is extremely cute conceptually and musically. The sort of image that pops in your head before you really look at the lyrics of a bunch of laptops in a mountain is very silly. Then you think about it and you're like "wow, she's actually kind of right in a sort of roundabout way". This song to me is very Post sounding, sort of techno-unique with fun synths. A very particular sound that I enjoy! I have no issues with this song but it isn't a ten. 8/10

IT'S OH SO QUIET

Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" is a cover of Betty Hutton's song of the same title, released in 1951, which is a cover of a 1948 German song "Und jetzt ist es still". Bjork's cover was very popular when released(still is) getting massive reception. She also screams and does her dolphin noises on this one, which makes this rendition particularly novel. Bjork says, "In a way it was against my principles to do an old cover-version because i’m so anti retro. But it has that story, this narrative : there’s a beginning and something happens in the middle and the ending is different. So many pop songs, especially in English lyrics, are just 900 different ways of saying ’She left me !’. Which I actually love because it’s pop, just one idea, very simple, it doesn’t mean it’s cheap. Or 10 different ways of saying ’Celebrate !’ or ’You’re sexy !’ for three minutes. I can relate to that. Not that one form is better than the other. But just that I belong to the story-telling group"

I find this song to be... overrated. While Bjork is perfectly capable of nailing the song in her own way, it's a cover that I don't think is lacking, it's just boring. Not to say I dislike the song, but it's not a favorite by any means lol. 6.7/10

ENJOY

Enjoy is a song produced by both Bjork and former Massive Attack member Tricky. It tells a story of how, while being in a new relationship, one is not ready to commit quite yet. One still wants to be greedy and take all that life has to offer. They want it to be easy, without wanting to hurt anyone but the world is too big and they to experience want all of it.

I LOVE THIS SONGGGGG. Quintessential mood of the album. It's so delightfully dark in its own way and very commanding in its delivery. Definitely a song that makes you want to cheat on your boyfriend, feel bad about it for a minute, but then dance and jump around at the club and sleep with someone else there. If you like this song you MUST listen to the live version. It's reimagined to be a bit more industrial, has beautiful flowing synths during the bridge and then at the chorus blasts face melting beats into your ears. I would compare it to riding in a car fast in a tunnel at night, going smoothly and you have your hand out the window sort of making it move with the wind. It's a pleasant resistance so you decide to stick your face out the window but you're going too fast and all the wind gets in your face and you can't help but enjoy(lol) it. Fantastic experience.9.5/10

YOU'VE BEEN FLIRTING AGAIN

You've been flirting again plays more like an interlude in the album, rather than a full fledged song. The lyrics are meant to be reflective of the obscure nature of flirting. Neither party did anything right, but there needs to be time for a connection to form. The song is very simple, only Bjork's vocals and strings.

Skippable. It seems harsh but it doesn't really hold up on it's out. To me it only works in context when listening to the album from start to finish. Good segue into the next song, though! 5/10

ISOBEL

Bjork's Isobel is a story. The song is cinematic while still being danceable and almost child-like. It is believed to be the second part of a lyrical saga, starting with Debut's Human Behavior and including Homogenic's Bachelorette.

Such a bop. Very catchy, you'll find yourself singing "na na na na na" in your head. 5/10