Chalk another one up to Mrs 1537. Back in 1993 when Debut was released I had decided that I didn’t like Björk, in my usual open-minded way without hearing a note of her music, probably based on how many other people liked her at the time*. Mrs 1537 bought it on CD and insisted I listen to it properly with her, in my usual open-minded way I pretended I didn’t like it, so as not to lose face even though I really did like bits of it. I may even have surreptitiously bought a single, or three.
Anyway, the years rolled ever onwards, Björk’s music became even more idiosyncratic losing me in the process and I never thought of her until a couple of years ago when I saw a copy of Debut cheap and charmed afresh by the cover picture, took the plunge.
Reader, I married her. Sort of.
Debut is an LP shot through with joy and optimism, I don’t own many of those. It sounds like someone utterly in love with the possibilities and feel of life. Nellee Hooper’s production brings an eclectic mix of beats and a warm pulse runs throughout almost everything here, no matter how off road we go.
Therein lies the rub, Björk has such an idiosyncratic sensibility and style, a certain way of phrasing lyrics that nobody else has. The press went a bundle on the whole manic-Icelandic-pixie-dream-girl thing, which was fun to parody and did start to grate after a while. In retrospect I think it was also a way of patronising and explaining away a fiercely individual and fiercely feminine talent.
I do think there is something in her nationality that gives her music a twist not heard elsewhere; Debut‘s music is not beholden to anything remotely American in its make up and that is such a rare thing** and I suspect geography is partly at play here. Although bear in mind that the music was also inspired by the UK club culture Björk was embracing at the time; none more so than ‘There’s More To Life Than This (Recorded Live At The Milk Bar Toilets)’, complete with chatter, opening and closing doors, you can hear all the happy sweat.
The singles from Debut were big, maybe more so than their sales even, they seemed to prise open our collective brains to some new possibilities. Take Björk’s defiantly untamed vocals all through ‘Human Behaviour’, a rather neat alien’s puzzled view of humanity, it sounded new.
My two personal favourites are very different indeed. First up the gorgeous version of ‘Like Someone In Love’ sung accompanied by harp and background noise alone, it is just wonderful whimsical and winsome. My other favourite is the, quite frankly, filthy ‘Venus As a Boy’, a paean to masculine beauty and a certain swoonsome exciting not-quite innocence^.
Other goodies on Debut include the joyful possibilities of ‘One Day’, the hands-in-the-air whirl of ‘Violently Happy’, the Tom Waitsian ‘Aeroplane’ where she manages to make everything sound a bit wrong in a totally right way and the consummately slinky swish and swirl of ‘Come To Me’.
I struggle to make it through a minute of ‘The Anchor Song’ where the song is totally broken by her vocal eccentricities and ‘Big Time Sensuality’ never gets to where it should do.
All in all pretty damned good returns for an LP as off-the-wall as Debut was/is/will be. I really like the way that 28-ish years later there still isn’t anything that sounds like this out there, a little island forged from strength and joy. Best of all Debut was the launch pad for her two even better LP’s to follow, before she lost me again, steering a course for the wilfully obscure shores of her later work.
Ah well, winsome, lose some.
1084 Down.
*to be fair I was clearly suffering from a nasty case of sillyprickitis back in ’93.
**her reshaping of the jazz standard ‘Like Someone In Love’ offering wonderful proof of this.
^I have never knowingly met Björk but I suspect the song may well have been written about me.
I love love love this one. “Debut is an LP shot through with joy and optimism, I don’t own many of those. It sounds like someone utterly in love with the possibilities and feel of life.” Nailed it.
Bjork can be a lot of work to listen to, she makes you earn the reward of it, but it is always worth it. This album, though, (and parts of the next one) are more accessible and, well, sunny. Her Debut record (see what I did there) must be enviable to everyone making records everywhere.
I am not one to listen to pop music, but I gave Bjork a try earlier this year on account of how inventive and experimental she is. I didn’t fall in love with her music (it’s one of those cases where it’s simply not my thing), but my admiration for her as an artist grew a lot after going through her discography. I particularly love Vespertine, Homogenic, and Vulnicura. Debut and Post are pretty awesome too.
Few people remember the difficult period where Bjork was replaced by Blaze Bayley for a couple of albums.
When she fell out with herself over musical differences? To be fair I thought Blaze did a great job with the Icelandic whimsy, before being replaced secretly by Bruce Dickinson.
That’s right. Bjruce comfortably headlines stadiums now but it wouldn’t have been possible without Bjlaze Bjayley.
But the less said about the time Alanis Morrissette was replaced by Tim “Ripper” Owens, the better.
Haha! What were they thinking with the Alanis thing? Didn’t anybody learn anything from the whole Chaka Khan/Tony Martin debacle?!
But Chaka Khan’s album ‘Tyr’ was pretty cool.
You have had some really good opening paragraphs but hang a blue ribbon on this one. I’m jealous I didn’t write it.
There really is nobody that sounds like her, quite unique phrasing as you said.
And that past/present/future description fits too – some albums are ‘ahead of their time’ but then the world eventually catches up. Here, I agree, it will never not be delightfully off-the-wall!
Thanks Geoff. I think I may have stolen the past/present/future thing from Douglas Adams, to be totally honest.
If you’re going to steal, that’s a pretty reliable source from which to steal!
Joy and optimism? Fuck off.
(great review, Joe. I’ve been meaning to give the warbler a proper try for years now. Would you recommend starting here?)
You Aussies, you’re all such terrible cavemen!
And thank you, grab this or Post, whichever is cheaper to find – they’re both great. I increasingly think she’s really underrated and patronised. Much more vital and interesting than most of the grunting dullards with guitars I fawn all over.
LOL. You Welsh are so hairy and guitary.
Great opening paragraph Joe! lol. The Mrs pulled one on ya and you caved!
Haha, I have learned over 25 years of marital ‘bliss’ that is just the way to go.
We here as well hit 25 this year! Not too many do anymore.
I used to blast out “Life’s too Good” by the Sugar Cubes through Brudenell Road a lot in 1992. You never complained, you secretly loved the little Icelandic weirdo
Shhh! Voice from my past!
I was a little too young for her when this came out but nabbed a second hand copy late in the 1990s.
Stop being young, I resent that!
I was 13 when it came out – just wasn’t quite on my radar.
I really like this album a lot. She also lost me in later years, though I will admit that I saw her live in those “later years” (2013 to be exact) and she was phenomenal. Still, “Debut” is probably her only album that will ever find its way to my vinyl shelves (if I ever find a good copy).
I’d love to see her, never have. My son is a big fan.
Post is a great LP too. The reissues are usually present cheap over here. Debut wins because I love the cover pic so much.
I like some of Post but not all of it. Debut feels more realized for me.