Volta
| Bjork
Volta
Volta is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer Bjork, released on 1 May 2007 by One Little Indian Records. A wide array of artists collaborated with Bjork on material for the album, including longtime collaborator Mark Bell, along with new producers Timbaland and Danja. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Pitchfork
Far from the accessible pop record it's been touted as, the iconoclastic singer's latest outing rarely revisits the celebratory spirit of its first single, despite welcome guest spots from Timbaland, Antony, Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale, and Konono No. 1, among others.
-
Sputnik Music
If you put out so much masterpieces, even an excellent album feels like a disappointment.
-
Stylus Magazine
As with much of her past work, it’s almost embarrassingly human, sometimes sounding too close to you to believe it’s not your own.
-
A.V. Music Club
Volta is a weird mess of an album, but it's also Björk's most approachable and immediate since Homogenic.
-
Dazed Digital
Volta remains an exhilarating assault on the haptic senses – yet it’s strangely been relegated to a footnote in the Icelandic artist’s career.
-
Slant Magazine
Volta will probably endure as long as what (little) worked on Medúlla, so expectations should probably be recalibrated. It could simply be that we were all expecting the wrong thing in hoping for the little princess to resuscitate her 808.
-
BBC Music
Joyful, expressive, brave, intelligent: in short, another great Bjork album.
-
Rolling Stone
Ten luxuriant, often dark songs ranging from Martian electronica to inimitable balladry to id-channeling reveries, with African percussion, thick brass and deeply emotional singing: That’s Bjork’s new album in a nutshell, and, as usual, she sounds like no one but herself.
-
NME
Timbaland helps Björk to create her best album since the ’90s.
-
The Guardian
No one boasts as many ideas as the avant-garde darling. But why are they so hard to whistle, asks Craig McLean.
-
Music OMH
Volta is a hotch-potch, a heady brew of strange and unsettling ingredients hop-scotched around by an artist who, a decade and a half since launching her solo career, still sounds like no-one else, though the success of artists like Camille and Bat For Lashes suggest her approach to music is becoming ever more influential.
-
Stereogum
There is fun to be had on Volta, but it must be extracted.
-
Tiny Mix Tapes
Volta is Björk’s best album yet. It is the most perfect and the most immaculate, beyond any doubt in my mind.
-
Prefix Mag
It’s a shame for Bjork to pander to such an unsophisticated call to arms when the dignity of an enduring creative vision speaks for itself across Volta. After all, what’s the use of a battle cry after a career spent in the trenches?
-
Soundblab
Volta saw Bjork stretch out, relax and have a little fun. However, since this is a Bjork album, even the fun is a little on the avant garde side.
-
All Music
Volta could very easily sound scattered, but this isn't the case. Instead, it finds the perfect balance between the vibrancy of her poppier work in the '90s and her experiments in the 2000s.
-
Drowned in Sound
Björk’s origins might well be lost in the mists of time, but we’re not as concerned as she is: we’re far more interested in where she’s headed, even at this point of her career. This is no sidestep, despite the recalling of past achievements; it takes one step back to fly a dozen forward, and leaves the listener bewildered at its incredible execution.
-
Paste Magazine
Volta has received some fairly lukewarm notices. But, though it may take time for this record to work its magic, when it does, the effect is well worth the effort.
-
The Student Playlist
Regardless of what the inspiration behind Volta was, or any other of Björk’s musical achievements, one thing always remains constant – the authentic approach to her craft and an unapologetic excellence and talent, the two characteristics that have defined her from her early days right through to the present day.
-
CLUAS
“Volta” is the worst album I’ve ever heard. Bar none. If by these words I’ve prevented one person from buying this stinking heap I’ll face my maker a happy man.
-
Under the Radar
Volta is a complex, schizophrenic offering that is sometimes difficult to listen to; with gentle and romantic songs wedged in with thumping electronic tracks. Fans of Debut and Post should buy this album, as Bjork has returned with the vocal style that gained her alot of her hardcore fans in the 1990s.
-
N.Y. Mag
A straightforward indie-pop outing, straightforward being a relative term when applied to an artist who recently scored a film about a giant, disintegrating blob of Vaseline on the deck of a Japanese whaling vessel.
-
NPR Music
Bjork has brought together some of the most unique international voices from widely dissimilar backgrounds - not to cram them into her vision, but to create a collective vision. As a political metaphor and as a pop CD, it's a pretty impressive accomplishment.
-
Entertainment
Volta once again attests to the fact that after over twenty years in the business, there is at least one Icelandic eccentric that is still pushing boundaries, taking leaps and experimenting with new ideas.
-
The Reykjavik Grapevine
The good moments (and there are a few) are just too sparse. Where Volta depends too heavily on instrumentation and the work of contributors, it becomes a little ostentatious. Even for Björk.
-
RTE
The album is a messy jumble of sounds and messages, with some gems in the midst. It may not always work, but it always keeps you guessing, which is what Bjork does best.
-
Boston
Bjork has the beat, but lacks a vision.
-
Lincoln Journal Star
“Volta,” the latest release from the pixie-esque virtuouso Bjork, is nothing short of inspired, and inspiring.
-
Reuters
The follow-up to 2004’s experimental “Medulla” and 2001’s exquisite “Vespertine” has the usual complex drums (aided on some tracks by none other than Timbaland), throaty wails and unexpected poignancy, especially on the brass-filled, techno-traveler anthem “Wanderlust.” But it has some stinkers, too.
-
Dusted Magazine
It explores a lot of different tunnels. That's good. It's fun. It's got variety. It bears immediate rewards for those who look to Bjork for something beyond brand-name eccentricity.
-
Digital Spy
Bjork's Volta album might feature a trio of relatively commercial Timbaland collaborations, but it also offers numerous glimpses of the Icelandic pop pixie at her most ingenious and avant-garde. 'Declare Independence', the disc's third single, is very much an example of the latter.
-
Exclaim!
In contemporary popular music, no one has done more than this Icelandic goddess to merge the avant-garde with the accessible, a trend that continues on her fabulous new album, Volta.
-
Adrian's Album Reviews
The album isn't easy and isn't quite one of her best, but quality will out in the end. Repeated listenings are generally satisfying.
-
Daily Vault
Like all Bjork albums, Volta needs a few listens to truly absorb. After a second listen, I liked the album more than my first listen. And there is something to be said about an artist who continuously prides herself on not revealing all of her surprises on the first listen. But an album has to offer reasons for a listener to return.
-
The Northern Light
“Volta” just isn’t all that good. Bjork’s singing is.well, it’s consistent, but that’s the problem. On previous records, Bjork had a tendency to shine on a bridge, chorus, verse or even a whole song. This time around, Bjork sticks to standard fare. There’s nothing to complain about, but then there’s nothing to get excited over, either.
-
No Ripcord
Volta almost seems a step back to virgin ears. Like Squarepusher's Hello Everything, the album first registers as sort of a streamlined, original Greatest Hits. Many songs recall past landmarks without the adrenaline buzz of an artist out on a dangerous limb. It almost seems as if stock has been taken of past developments and been repackaged into a more judicious whole. There are no eargasms along the lines of Hyperballad, Bachelorette, or 5 Years, but the whole thing is agreeable.
-
North Tide Press
Volta is simply a precious stone in a mine full of diamonds. Perfectly harmless, but vaguely disappointing. It’s fine.
-
Uncut
“Volta” is certainly more exuberant and in-your-face than the gorgeous miniatures of her recent work. It’s not commercial pop music, exactly, for all Timbaland’s glittery array of previous employers. But it’s not unapproachably avant-garde, either, for all the fearsome credibility of many of her new accomplices.
-
UR Chicago
Volta proves that Björk has yet to compromise her artistic integrity or take a lackadaisical backseat to her success.
-
Tuned In To Music
Volta may be an album that is easier to admire than to love but Bjork is always interesting.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments