Retro Review / Sugarcubes’ Birthday: The Joy of Being Weird

There is something in the water over in Iceland. You have Sigur Rós, Of Monsters and Men…and of course Björk. Before this amazing performance artists conquered club music in the 90s and work a dress made out of a swan, she was the glittery vocal powerhouse in the band The Sugarcubes.

In 1988 the band put out the ultimate college / alt pop record Life’s Too Good, which was the perfect blend of sparkly fun pop and alt weirdness. The instrumentation was a fun loving pop similar to that of They Might be Giants or even James, but vocalists Björk and Elnar brought that touch of B52s weirdness that set the band apart. There was enough familiar to get you bopping, but enough weird to get your attention. Not weighted too much on either end the band was a good balance of familiar pop and something fresh. Birthday is a perfect example. The track itself has some is full of Smiths – esque bass lines, glittery chimes and tight drums…all the hallmarks of great pop. No one instrument overstays its welcome and everything works well together.

What really brings the track to life is the unbridled force that is Björk. I mean…”She’s painting huge spoons / And glues them together”…what is happening. Where am I? Her wide vocal range goes from her iconic screeches, to guttural screams to pixie style pop brilliance. She seems to pronounce words in any way she likes and just goes for broke, but it all works. I think what works about Björk’s vocal is that is that it isn’t an act. She is genuine and really commits to the track. There is a story where Thom Yorke was staying at her place because they were going to use her studio to record a track for the movie Dancer in the Dark. He said that he woke up to hear Björk really going for it on a vocal off in the house. He wondered down to say that he thought they weren’t recording for a couple hours. She said that’s right…she was just warming up. This floored him and he realised how much work she put into her vocal.

This started my love affair with Björk’s vocal, which has lasted to this day. Also, this track shows how sometimes music can be fun and weird, which is great! Sometimes we just need to dance around and let the weirdness take over.

Listen to Birthday