Blogs
  • Go! 3/7-3/9
    06:00PM 03/07/08
  • R.E.M. Accelerate: An Advance Review and Song-by-Song Analysis of the Band's New Album
    04:06AM 03/08/08
  • Your Weekly St. Louis Food Blog Digest
    03:45PM 03/07/08
  • This Is Hawkwind -- Do Not Panic
    06:08PM 11/09/07
Recent Articles

Recent Articles By Annie Zaleski

  • Sleep State
    8 p.m. Saturday, February 9. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, 3301 Lemp Avenue.
  • Soft
    9 p.m. Tuesday, February 12. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Lloyd Dobler Effect
    9 p.m. Monday, January 14. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Career (Remix)
    The trials and tribulations of R. Kelly.
  • The Aviation Club
    9 p.m. Friday, January 4. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

National Features

  • Houston Press
    "It Was Like an Armageddon Movie"

    For days after Hurricane Rita, a Texas prison was hell on earth.

    By Chris Vogel
  • SF Weekly
    The Candidate

    Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.

    By Matt Smith
  • The Pitch
    How Not To Be a Rap Star

    First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.

    By Nadia Pflaum
  • Village Voice
    Project Runaway

    What becomes a gossip columnist most?

    By Michael Musto

While her flamboyant outfits might never be polite, Björk's last few albums certainly were. The ice-crystal percussion and melodies on Vespertine were stunning but mannered, like an immaculately decorated parlor, while the nearly a cappella Medulla — an album where beatboxing and throat-singing replaced traditional instrumentation — felt too gimmicky and academic, and lacked the mischief that marked her previous pop experiments.

Fortunately, Björk's gleeful sense of adventure is back on Volta, perhaps thanks to her rediscovery of rhythm. Collaborators such as Timbaland, Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale, the African band Konono No.1 and a ten-piece Icelandic brass choir make Volta's songs leap alive — from the going-to-battle anxiety of the cinematic, marching "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," to fireworks-esque programming on a triumphant "Wanderlust" and the outer-space drum circle driving the bumpy carousel-whirl "Earth Intruders." The slow-burning highlight "Declare Independence" even sounds downright dangerous, with bleating beats and thundering synths short-circuiting around Björk as she screams, with more unabashed emotion than she's let loose in years, "Raise your flag! Declare independence! Don't let them do that to you!"

Still, those hoping for a carbon-copy of Post or Homogenic will be somewhat disappointed: Volta's songs are as ornate, but generally lack brevity and a willingness to conform to traditional pop structure — meaning that some songs tend to run for too long, or are simply as ephemeral as a melting icicle. But the big difference is that Björk seems to feel completely comfortable in her creative skin on Volta; this nonchalance allows her beautiful quirkiness to burst forth with joy.

About Us | Work for Riverfront Times | Esubscribe | Free St. Louis Classifieds | National Advertising | Privacy Policy
Problem With the Site? | RSS | Site Map
©2008 Village Voice Media All rights reserved.

Riverfront Times Insiders

  • Local food, music and news blasts
  • Free Stuff

buy, sell, trade (3,283)
musician (445)
rentals (3,962)
jobs (2,697)
adult entertainment (1,107)
Personal of the Day


More Personals >>
NOW CLICK THIS
  • - SXSW Showdown!
  • - Ultra Music Festival
  • - Cocktails for a Cause!
  • - Virtual Career Fair
  • - St. Louis Home Search
  • - Restaurants 2007
  • - Digital Jukebox
  • - St. Louis Spaces
  • - 2008 RFT Restaurant Guide Poll, Vote Now!
  • - RENTstlouis