IFLTS: 'Pluto,' Bjork

'Pluto,' Bjork
From 1997's 'Homogenic'

The days between 1995 and '97 weren't exactly banner for Bjork. It was post-'Post' -- her second album -- and the pint-sized Icelandic singer was enjoying ample critical plaudits, but her personal life had become fodder for tabloids. Among the headlines: an airport fracas with a photographer, a letter bomb courtesy of a deranged fan and a scrap between two of her exes, Tricky and Goldie. The Queen Quirkstress had had it up to here. If the peculiar pixie would soon explode, then 'Pluto' was her bomb.

Bjork generously sounds a warning before detonation: "Excuse me," she sings, "but I just have to explode." Like the ruling planet, known for its sudden upheaval and renewal, Ms. Gudmundsdóttir demolishes her body -- a metaphorical death -- in order to be reborn. "I'll be brand new tomorrow," she promises atop apocalyptic beats and crashing, fuzzy distortions. "A little bit tired, but brand new."

With a series of yelps and growls, her voice propels the destruction into a dizzying array of epileptic electronic thrashes. The ninth of ten tracks, 'Pluto' is the point when 'Homogenic' -- an intricate mold of strings and beats, promise and heartache -- spontaneously combusts. Only on the final song, 'All is Full of Love,' does she offer a there, there to rest your pretty little head.

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