Bjork - The Dull Flame Of Desire

In most respects, 2007s ‘Volta’ sounded and felt like an album that stopped short. Despite the myriad collaborations (yes, Timbaland), excellent production and fun approach to many of the tracks, the album, for the most part lacked the spectre for innovation and unabated effervescence of past successes from the 90s, namely the stellar ‘Post’ and imposing ‘Homogenic’. ‘Volta’, to be frank, stood frail in comparison, a medley of several awkward, sometimes introverted compositions.

Or you could say that the album’s collective vigour and tumult is confined completely to a minority of songs, for certain including the shimmering closing track. ‘The Dull Flame of Desire’, in gaping contrast to the efforts before it, is a solid, full-bodied orchestral epic from its brooding brass outset. The dark yet affectionate lyrics are duetted with Antony & the Johnson’s Antony Hegarty, whose robust, subdued vocal style is perfectly inclined to Bjork’s own strangely meticulous demeanour. Meanwhile, the swooning antibalas and deep, restless percussion continues to muster an escalating urgency, one which, unexpectedly, implodes and ruptures hastily at the close. The single edition’s remixes make heroic efforts to reinterpret the track, most notably Modeselektor’s metallic ‘For Boys’ and ‘For Girls’ pieces, but none ever manage to resonate or pierce quite as much as the original.

It’s a beautiful exhibition of the artist’s true ever-fluctuating talent, simply not showcased by many of ‘Volta’’s other collaborations.