Brett Callwood
Björk
Vespertine (One Little Independent/Elektra)
Mmeadows and Vespertine: Kristin Slipp of NYC progressive pop duo mmeadows told us about her love for a Björk gem.
Kristin Slipp: It’s impossible to choose one favorite album but up there in our top 5 is Björk’s Vespertine.
(One Little Independent/Elektra)
I was in college when I first heard it. I recall many evenings spent in my attic bedroom in Boston listening to the vinyl through my mom’s Marantz receiver. Björk is special in a million ways; One thing she does so well on all her records is create a feeling of extreme intimacy with the listener.
The vocal treatment is often bone-dry, close-mic’d, every inhalation on display. She describes the soundworld she built on Vespertine as a “huge embroidery piece,” which creates a soft, expansive bed on which her muscular-yet-delicate vocals lie.
It contains a lot of plucky, icy sounds but also so much crackle and warmth, a perfect balance of yin and yang. And the lyrics are soft and sentimental in a way I think only Björk can get away with.
Earnestness can come off as saccharine, but somehow when she does it, it only draws me closer. It’s like she’s whispering a secret to me and only me. In writing about it, I think I’ve convinced myself that this is, indeed, my very favorite album after all.
mmeadows and Vespertine: mmeadows’ “Working On Me” single is out now. The Light Moves Around You album is our February 3.
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