Volta by Bjork (CD, May-2007, Atlantic USA)

Bjork is back! Wearing what looks like a giant glass Christmas ornament with big blue feet. Whichever side of Bjork you love -- the bubblegum, funtime dance pop, or her recent albums of challenging, tormented, dreamy vocal experiments -- it's difficult to resist her signature elfin wail, a voice that sometimes seems to channel all of humanity's 21st century pain and hope. On her newest, Volta, she gives you the best of both sides of her split personality. About half the tracks hit your sweet tooth, especially the half featuring stomping dance beats by Timbaland and urgent pop choruses. But she also gives you plenty for your mind and your ghostly soul, with lots of strange, haunting ballads and experiments featuring an Icelandic horn ensemble, kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate, and lo-fi Congolese percussion troupe Konono No. 1. Her amazing duet with Antony (of the Johnsons), "The Dull Flame of Desire" is an entrancing highlight, as is the manic pounding of "Declare Independence". As always, her lyrics are raw howls of conscience, railing against the failures modern society, and declaring over and over again, independence. Volta will take you on a journey of the spirit, with a detour to the dancefloor along the way.