Bryan Baste | Staff Writer
In 1992, The Sugarcubes [Bjork’s old band] had just gone on hiatus.
Bjork, becoming more and more interested in the electronic music scene as well as the growing rave scene in England, was becoming disillusioned with The Sugarcubes’ indie rock sound.
Being inspired by these two burgeoning scenes in England, she sent a demo cassette to One Little Indian Records and moved to London to begin the recording sessions for Debut.
This album, at the time, was pretty daring for her since she was trying to combine electronic dance music and experimental pop textures into something breathable. Something that not only let her experiment with her sound but made people move as well.
The very first thing you hear on the album is the almost military-style snare drums pulsating throughout the first song, Human Behaviour. These drums lead us into the unknown as the first lyrics appear “If you ever get close to a human, and human behavior Be ready, be ready to get confused” as well as “But, oh, to get involved in the exchange, of human emotions, Is ever so, ever so satisfying”.
Bjork, in this track, shows her usual abstract writing as we are painted an image through her words, an image that’s foggy and blurry through her winding lyricism. This song feels like a love letter to human connection and conversation, saying that humans can be unpredictable and that there is no guide on how to deal with other people, yet we still love interacting with each other.
Human Behavior was also a lead single along with the beautiful Venus as a Boy, which utilizes Bjork’s voice tremendously well, giving her heart and soul to the song. Her yearning wailing complements the repetitive rhythm of the song, which also sounds great.
Her vocals throughout the album make it for me. No matter how high or low the octave she is singing at, she still sounds like she’s putting her all into every performance.
Tied for my favorite songs on the album, the first is There’s More to Life Than This (Recorded Live at the Milk Bar Toilets). This song was allegedly recorded live inside a club called Milk Bar, with Bjork running around singing the lyrics as the dance backing track plays in the background, which has a fantastic, super funky guitar riff to back up the chorus.
My other favorite is The Anchor Song, which consists mainly of a repetitive brass section while Bjork sings abstract lyrics about diving into the ocean and planting her anchor down so she can stay underwater, under the currents. The lyrics “Underneath all currents, and drop my anchor, as this is where I’m staying, this is my home” paint a picture of her returning to a “safe space,” a place where she can stay and feel comfortable, i.e., dropping her anchor. Her delivery, especially with the lines “this is where I’m staying, this is my home” shows almost a frustration, like someone we do not know is trying to rip her away from her “anchor”.
Overall, this album is a legendary debut, not only because of its experimentation and pioneering art pop sound but also because of its authenticity. There weren’t many pop artists experimenting to this degree in 1993, so at the time, for pop audiences, this probably sounded like it came from another planet.
Debut is not only one of the best debut records for any artist but in my opinion, it is one of the best pop albums ever made.
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