It’s been more than two decades since Björk’s once-maligned, now-revered Marjan Pejoski “swan dress” became the talk of the 73rd Academy Awards red carpet, and since then he…
It’s been more than two decades since Björk’s once-maligned, now-revered Marjan Pejoski “swan dress” became the talk of the 73rd Academy Awards red carpet, and since then her way-left-of-center proclivities have become more and more commonplace.
As the band— which included hypnotic percussion from Manu Delago and dense arrangements courtesy of musical director Bergur Porisson — moved around the stage for each song, it evoked faeries pirouetting through the forest, more ethereal in movement than, say, David Byrne’s lo-fi marching band in “American Utopia.” As the lights ebbed and flowed for every performance, new staging was examined like a shiny toy.
Although the spotlight was on the world of “Utopia,” the piece occasionally dipped into to thematically relevant hits from Björk’s back catalogue, such as “Vespertine” opener “Hidden Place” and “Debut” standout “Venus as a Boy.” Reconfigured fan favorites added to the underlying discomfort of the show, anytimelayered on the mind and body experience; off-key crowd warbles singing along to “Pagan Poetry” only added another layer of dissonance.