 | |
List Price: $17.49 | | Label: Polydor
Salesrank: 515528
Released: January 31, 2006 |
| Our Price: $4.89 |
| Used Price: $1.56 |
|
| Media: Audio CD |
|
Post Track Listing:
1. Army of Me
2. Hyper-Ballad
3. Modern Things
4. It's Oh So Quiet
5. Enjoy
6. You've Been Flirting Again
7. Isobel
8. Possibly Maybe
9. I Miss You
10. Cover Me
11. Headphones
Editorial Review:
This Icelandic marvel is such an original that, even after four Sugarcubes albums and a brilliant solo Debut, she remains an acquired taste. "Army of Me" is a turbulent, darkling tune that's almost conventional next to the gloriously eclectic material that follows. Working with Tricky, Soul II Soul/U2 producer Nellee Hooper, and string arranger/one-hit wonder Deodato, Björk looses her helium-fueled voice and surreal wordplay on Gershwinesque pop (the adorable "It's Oh So Quiet"), ambient dub ("Possibly Maybe") and all kinds of fresh dance/pop hybrids ("Enjoy," "Hyper-Ballad," "I Miss You"). Too raw and adventurous for mass success, perhaps, but a more unique, engaging, oddly accessible artist just doesn't exist. --Jeff Bateman
Post Reviews:
Hated it at first, but truly her peak and a stunning one 
2009-08-09 - In the 1990s, after being weaned in Melbourne's ultraconservative suburbs on the commercial music of the eighties, I began to be frustrated by the loud, thrashy noise of terrible alternative bands like Nirvana, Silverchair, and worst of all the Presidents of the United States of America. Australia's middle 1990s charts also contained equally dreadful techno bands like Corona, the Real McCoy JX and the Outhere Brothers who were making it difficult for me to know where to turn except to old favourites from the eighties that I had not heard since leaving Ashwood in 1989.
In my youth, living in a place where political incorrectness is a completely unspoken way of life and people listen only to music that will not hurt them emotionally, I did not read - or have much opportunity to read - music reviews. Only in my last year of school when I was beginning to be annoyed by the music on both commercial and noncommercial radio did I read music criticism for the first time. One of the first reviews I recall reading was of Bjork's second solo album, "Post", which was rated by The Age's "EG" as one of the best albums of 1995, by which time it had already become her most commercially successful album on the Australian charts, eventually reaching the Top Ten a second time after the success of "It's Oh So Quiet". At the time, I had heard "It's Oh So Quiet" on the radio frequently and utterly detested it, thinking it the same tuneless noise with which Nirvana and Silverchair were polluting the airwaves and making me turn to "easy listening" music that my no-nonsense brother was calling "terrible" and which I soon knew critics to hate.
In the following year, I read an increasing amount of music criticism and came to admire preceding eccentric women Kate Bush and Laura Nyro, and I felt that I should check out Bjork despite my dislike of "Post" when it came onto the radio in 1995: the descriptions appealed to me much more than what I had heard half a decade before. Finding a cheap copy in a discount store in central Melbourne, I was surprised by what I heard even though I might have unconsciously heard "Army of Me" on Triple J or Rage. From that day, I realised that I had made a mistake about Bjork. "Post" was never a noise feast in the same way as Nirvana or Silverchair or Corona: the music is instead dense and fierce yet, like Laura Nyro's "Tendaberry", extremely catchy. "Army of Me" is a superb opener with one of the most fierce vocals ever seen in modern music. The power with which Bjork sings, even at a volume that is far from a shout, is wonderful and the simple, even austere music makes her fierce emotional desire even more explicit. Second track and last single "Hyperballad" is much softer yet its beauty is strange yet so far from the ugliness of the predominant grunge and techno I was exposed to in the 1990s. Rather, the electronics are even melodic and quiet, and on third track "The Modern Things" Bjork satirises modern life - a theme she would take further particularly on Vespertine.
With age, I can even appreciate the hit single "It's Oh So Quiet" for its dramatic dynamics, but more distinctly impressive in the way her voice tightens on "Enjoy" to create a breakdown like nothing else. The touching, sparkling "I Miss You" is really intimate and beautiful in a way you would never expect with an electronic act, and the sound on closer "Headphones" is wonderfully experimental in the truest way. The lyrics of "Isobel" are an amazing look at the desire for solitude and rhyme in a poetic manner that I did not recognise when first buying the album. The "na, na, na" outro fits in with the feeling of beautiful solitude perfectly. "Cover Me", teh second-last and shortest track, is yet another wonderful surprise in which Bjork manages to perfectly integrate a one-note harpsichord into her unique sound without losing anything. The imagination in the few lyrics of "Cover Me" make it a little known masterpiece even perhaps to Bjork's fans.
All in all, "Post", even if very much an acquired taste, stands out as one of the very best albums of the 1990s. It is more unconventional and even more pasisonate than Bjork's first solo album and in her quest to create more intimate sounds later on she did many wonderful things but never reached the same emotional level. The remix album "Telegram" (possibly even better than "Post") is also essential but if you want to know about 1990s music there are few better places to look.
I weep. 
2008-05-20 - This collection of tunes is an experiment with rock. I'm loving Björk's vocals, all though over-produced to an inch of her life. This LP is too eclectic to be eclectic. Post seems an effort to please mainstream goons. The LP feels forced.
Passionate and original; this is no sophomore slump...
2008-02-15 - The one thing that could and probably must be said about Bjork's music is that it is otherworldly. Listening to anything produced by the uber-talented Icelandic beauty (yes I said beauty; her childish and slightly impish features are exotic to me) is like a slow slide into a land unfamiliar to most humans. Bjork is in a league all her own and creates music she wants to create, music she is passionate about it that resonates on every track on this album. She cannot be pigeonholed for there is nothing she won't attempt. This can be seen full throttle in her sophomore album `Post', an album rich with unique and original concepts that elevate Bjork above just about everyone else.
The first thing you'll notice about `Post' is that it possesses a little more edge than her debut album `Debut'. The first track off the album is `Army of Me' and it is sic with heavy bass and almost eerie undertones. I relish this side of Bjork, her darker more untamed side. `Army of Me' is one of the most memorable tracks here for the beat alone will get stuck in your skin. Along these same musical lines is `Enjoy', a track that is extremely `enjoyable'. This style suits Bjork magically; her voice and her style is personified by the techno laden beats.
But this is not all Bjork has in store for us.
Taking us away from the rave and into a different kind of club atmosphere Bjork takes advantage of the techno beats to create more up-tempo tracks; much like `Hyper-Ballad' which is just that, a hyper ballad. The song starts off sweet and sincere, Bjork's flaw vocals adding layers of emotional depth to the lyrics, and then it explodes hyper-intensity that is joyous and boisterous. This same energy is seen in `I Miss You', a track that almost has a Latin flare to it with the tribal sounding bongos and horns forming a sturdy back-beat. You can tell that Bjork is having a lot of fun with this song.
`The Modern Things' is a good transitioning between the up-tempo techno beats and the sensitive ballad. It's a brilliantly constructed track and leads us into Bjork's next musical adventure...
The ballad.
Two tracks; `You've Been Flirting Again' and `Cover Me', are short and to the point, graceful and delicate in their delivery and give us yet another layer to the talent that is Bjork. `Cover Me' is such a beautiful addition to the album, adding Oriental flare to the track with the classic strings caressing the track magically. It's short, but it's meaningful. `Isobel' has classical orchestral inspiration and it magnificently merges this influence with an almost tribal backdrop. `Possibly Maybe' is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It's brimming with an intense sensuality that I didn't expect. It's soft and delicate and very inviting. It feels warm; if that makes sense.
But Bjork isn't finished yet...
If anyone has been privilidged to see `Dancer in the Dark' (I say privileged mainly because the film alone is flawless) then you have experienced Bjork in full on `musical' mode. She gives us an early taste of this with `It's Oh So Quiet', a track that feels like a Broadway number. It's lively and imaginative and perfectly constructed and delivered. Bjork knows what she's doing and it shows. Not only is it technically flawless but her heart is in it and that elevates it to new heights.
The closing track `Headphones' feels in a way like an emotional crash for Bjork. This is a good thing. The song is almost stagnant, with no real shifts in pitch but it manages to display emotion quite adequately. As the song begins you can feel an almost draining on the part of Bjork. It's a beautiful effort on her part and closes out the album spectacularly.
`Post' is one of Bjork's finest albums and is a far more complete and collected album then her phenomenal debut album `Debut'. She has mastered her vision and delivers it in such a beautiful package that we can be nothing short of stunned by her growth. Like I have said before and will continue to say; Bjork is not for everyone, but anyone can see that this girl is talented beyond compare. Even if you are not drawn to her musical style you at least must admit that she is one of the most original acts in music today, and that alone is a triumph.
possibly maybe my favorite
2008-01-29 - i am writing this review after having listened to her most current release, volta, and i can stay that this is probably my favorite album of hers. the music is great, and the lyrics are unique and cheeky. this is actually the CD that first introduced me to her and i have been a major fan ever since. check out "army of me", "hyperballad", "enjoy" and "possibly maybe".
I wonder what my body would sound like
2007-08-15 - This is my favorite Bjork CD. For me it typefies her fearlessness in pressing forward on the frontier of sound and unusual rhythms. She's also not afraid to tackle an epic story in the framework of a song and actually make it work. Songs from this CD remain pretty high in my play lists.
