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Articles and Reviews: MUSIC

Volta by Bjork (Polydor)

After several albums’ worth of beautiful whispers and delicate glitches, it’s a joy to report that on her sixth album ex-Sugarcubes maverick Bjork is raising her voice and volume once again. Featuring collaborations with Antony and the Johnsons’ Antony Hegarty on vocals, Malian Toumani Diabate on kora and Chinese Min Xiao-Fen on pipa, plus three production credits to Timbaland, this is a brass-heavy collection which finds its creator sounding in love with her children, nature and the earth. It also strikes the perfect balance between the vibrancy of her poppier, more dance orientated work in the ’90s and her esoteric, more trancy experiments in the 2000s. Severely recommended.

First published in Magill magazine, October/November 2007