Björk
Selmasongs

THE REVIEW

Björk Gudmundsdottir.
Behind this name lies perhaps the most famous personality from Iceland, the distant northern island, or a girl who always seems young with her Lapp face, as if she stepped out of the normal course of time that wears us all down, or yet one of the most acclaimed artists by critics and audiences throughout the nineties.
In 2000, on the brink of a new millennium (excuse the pause but a question to the readers: did the new millennium begin in 2001?) our birch accepts a new musical and cinematic challenge (the first). And it's a triumph! She takes on the commitment to write and perform all the music for Lars Von Trier's new musical tragedy, who will guide her during the recording, towards playing Selma, the blind protagonist of the Danish director's work.

And thus "Selmasongs" is born, a work that, despite its mere thirty-two minutes and change in length, possesses artistic and thematic completeness, making it a perfect soundtrack as well as something more than a transitional album between "Homogenic" and "Vespertine".
The songs. "Overture", the instrumental opening track, shows that side of Björk that is an enemy of words, which, as she says, kept her silent for entire days in her childhood and forced her to work hard to learn how to use them (I am grateful for the magic her words convey in her lyrics). The song, played by the orchestra conducted by Vincent Mendoza, made me think more of a tragic war film, immersing you in a state of deep distrust for all the destruction man brings. The impression will then be mistaken, as the following song lyrics will suggest, but not too far considering the music of this film (and the film itself) as a denunciation of an oppressive society leading to an inevitably tragic end.

In "Cvalda", the factory and machine noises transform into music on which Björk duets with Cvalda, aka a surprising Catherine Deneuve in her performance. In "I've Seen It All", the album's highlight, the duet is with Thom Yorke, the male alter ego of the Icelander in vocal use, perhaps the only one to shift from frenzied singing to a titanic chant. Although in this piece, the Radiohead leader uses an almost unrecognizable voice. "The Musical" is an anthem to this genre and Broadway. The ironic text finale, where Selma, pursued by the police, sings "And you're always there to catch me if I fall" right as she is caught by justice while dancing. In "107 Steps", a depressive background voice counts up to one hundred and seven, upon which Björk with her stunning voice counts her One Hundred And Seven Steps. "New World" tells of the new world, or rather the journey towards the new world where for poor Selma there will be a new day to see.