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Fossora is the tenth[nb 1] studio album by Icelandic singer-musician Björk. It was released on 30 September 2022 through One Little Independent Records.[2][3][4][5] The album was recorded mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic and centres around the theme of isolation, loss and grief, and mainly by the death of her mother, Hildur Runa Hauksdóttir, in 2018.[6] Commercially, the album debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 100 on the US Billboard 200. It received a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming Björk's ninth consecutive nomination in the category.

Fossora
Studio album by
Björk
Released30 September 2022 (2022-09-30)
Genre
Length54:14
LabelOne Little Independent
ProducerBjörk
Björk chronology
Country Creatures
(2019)		 Fossora
(2022)
Singles from Fossora
  1. "Atopos"
    Released: 6 September 2022
  2. "Ovule"
    Released: 14 September 2022
  3. "Ancestress"
    Released: 22 September 2022
  4. "Fossora"
    Released: 27 September 2022

Background


Fossora was partially inspired by the 2018 death of Björk's mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir; the songs "Sorrowful Soil" and "Ancestress" are about her, as well as how Björk dealt with her grief. In the album's liner notes, the former is subtitled "a eulogy for Hildur Rúna", and the latter is subtitled "an epitaph for Hildur Rúna". The album was conceptualized during the COVID-19 lockdowns after Björk travelled to Iceland to record. Keeping with the album's themes, its title is the ungrammatical feminine version of the Latin word for "digger". The album features contributions from American singer Serpentwithfeet, Björk's two children Sindri and Ísadóra, Indonesian dance duo Gabber Modus Operandi, and bass clarinet sextet Murmuri.[7][8][9][10]

"Allow" is an outtake from the sessions for Björk's previous album, Utopia, that was rearranged for Fossora.[11] Per an interview with Pitchfork's Jazz Monroe, Björk says the album began as "very conceptual, like: 'This is the clarinet album!' Then halfway through, I was like, 'Fuck that.'" She described it as an "'Iceland album': often uninhibited and volatile, but also steeped in the country's choral and folk traditions, with strings Björk programmed at her local coffee shop." Her interest in mushrooms "unified the record's themes of survival, death, and ecological meditation." She frames the album in contrast to her previous Utopia, with that album being "a skybound haven after her traumatic divorce" from longtime partner Matthew Barney and Fossora being her return to Earth. She describes the fungus metaphor as "something that lives underground, but not tree roots. A tree root album would be quite severe and stoic, but mushrooms are psychedelic and they pop up everywhere."[12]


Promotional campaign and release


The lead single, "Atopos", along with its cover art, was announced on 24 August.[13] The release date was later confirmed for 6 September, with the song premiering on BBC Radio 6 Music.[14] The second single, "Ovule", was released without any prior announcement on 14 September, along with a music video directed by Nick Knight, who had also worked on Björk's own "Pagan Poetry" music video in 2001.[15] The third single, "Ancestress", featuring Björk's son, Sindri Eldon, was released on 22 September.[16] The title track was released as the fourth single on 27 September 2022.[17]

Fossora was released as a digisleeve CD, deluxe hardbound book CD, limited cassette, and double LP; a turquoise variant of the LP exclusive to her official website and record label; a green variant of the LP being exclusive to indie record stores; standard black and 4 other color variants (burgundy, lime, silver, and clear) were also available from other specific retailers.[18]


Critical reception


Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[19]
Metacritic85/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Clash8/10[22]
Evening Standard[23]
The Guardian[24]
The Independent[25]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[26]
Mojo[27]
NME[28]
Pitchfork8.4/10[29]
Rolling Stone[30]

Fossora was met with universal acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 22 reviews.[20] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[19]

Concluding the review for AllMusic, Heather Phares declared that "On this soul-nourishing tour de force, her one-of-a-kind mix of innovation and emotion is as inspiring as it's ever been over her decades-long career."[21] At Clash, David Weaver claimed that, "there is no doubt that with ‘Fossora’, Björk is restating her individuality, thematically examining her place in the world as a 56-year old musician, whilst assuredly pushing sonic boundaries from neo-classical to industrial noise."[22] Paul Bridgewater shared similar sentiments in the review for The Line of Best Fit; "Fossora does indeed bang harder than any of her albums have for a long time and yet it’s not an abrasive record at heart."[26]

In a review of the album for NME, Emily MacKay declared it "An album of reinfatuation and reaffirmation, ‘Fossora’ is invigorating in its drive, if there’s little of real surprise here; hard as the mushroom-gabber beats are, if you’ve heard Pluto or Mutual Core, you won’t be shocked."[28] Pitchfork reviewer Jill Mapes described Björk's performance as being "grounded back on earth, searching for hope in death, mushrooms, and matriarchy, and finding it in bass clarinet and gabber beats."[29] Will Hermes at Rolling Stone stated that "Fossora zooms in Google Map-style, looking at people on the ground and in the room, measuring distances between them. The sonic landscape is still huge — awesome, as alien as it is familiar, full of otherworldly arrangements, tectonic beats, and craggy melodies that conjure the terrain of her native Iceland. The artist described it as something of her "mushroom” album, using metaphors about burrowing in the dirt. In short, it’s Björk at her absolute Björkiest."[30]

Amongst the few reviewers that were more critical of the album, Slant Magazine writer Sam C. Mac wrote that, "The Icelandic iconoclast’s compositional sense is as unbound as ever, her songs amoeba-like organisms transfiguring from one second to the next across the album, in line with a logic that’s defiantly hers alone, both for better and worse."[31] Austin Saalman compared the album less favorably to Björk's oeuvre, in the review for Under the Radar; "Fossora is less engaging than Utopia, Vulnicura, and Biophilia, and except for "Ovule", "Ancestress", and "Allow", cannot compete with her 1990s and early 2000s output."[32] At Paste, Max Feedman called it "a dense, challenging experiment that gradually coheres into an immersive and sometimes unsettling experience," but also noted that it wasn't without its, "occasional missteps along the way."[33]


Year-end lists


Fossora year-end lists
Publication # Ref.
Uncut 46 [34]

Track listing


All tracks produced by Björk, except for "Ovule" additionally produced by el Guincho. Kasimyn is credited under Gabber Modus Operandi in physical releases of the album.

Fossora track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Atopos" (featuring Kasimyn)Björk
  • Björk
  • Kasimyn
4:46
2."Ovule"BjörkBjörk3:38
3."Mycelia"BjörkBjörk2:00
4."Sorrowful Soil"BjörkBjörk3:15
5."Ancestress" (featuring Sindri Eldon)BjörkBjörk7:17
6."Fagurt Er í Fjörðum"Látra-Björgtraditional0:44
7."Victimhood"BjörkBjörk6:57
8."Allow" (featuring Emilie Nicolas)
  • Björk
  • Emilie Nicolas
Björk5:26
9."Fungal City" (featuring Serpentwithfeet)BjörkBjörk4:45
10."Trölla-Gabba" (featuring Kasimyn)Björk
  • Björk
  • Kasimyn
1:57
11."Freefall"BjörkBjörk4:31
12."Fossora" (featuring Kasimyn)Björk
  • Björk
  • Kasimyn
4:19
13."Her Mother's House" (featuring Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney)
  • Björk
  • Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney
Björk4:33
Total length:54:14

Personnel


"Atopos"

"Ovule"

"Mycelia"

"Sorrowful Soil"

"Ancestress"

"Fagurt Er í Fjörðum"

"Victimhood"

"Allow"

"Fungal City"

"Trölla-Gabba"

"Freefall"

"Fossora"

"Her Mother's House"


Charts


Chart performance for Fossora
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[38] 25
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[39] 19
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[40] 30
French Albums (SNEP)[41] 32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[42] 10
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[43] 30
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)[44] 4
Irish Albums (IRMA)[45] 44
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[46] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[47] 52
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[48] 54
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[49] 31
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[50] 47
Scottish Albums (OCC)[51] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[52] 33
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[55] 11
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[56] 3
US Billboard 200[57] 100
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[58] 15
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[59] 9
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[60] 2
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[61] 20

Notes


    1. Fossora is officially considered to be Björk's tenth album. However, this is the eleventh solo album if her self-titled 1977 album is included, or her twelfth album if her 1990 jazz album Gling-Gló with tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar is also included.

    References


    1. Alamy (November 2022). "Earth Mutha". Mojo. London. p. 82.
    2. Ravens, Chal (19 August 2022). "'I got really grounded and loved it': how grief, going home and gabber built Björk's new album". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
    3. Roberts, Randall (26 January 2022). "Björk's response to the pandemic? 'Dance like a crazy person'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    4. Callwood, Brett (20 January 2022). "Björk Returns Refreshed to Cornucopia Tour". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    5. Pearis, Bill (31 August 2022). "Björk shares Fossora cover art, announces release date". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
    6. Sanchez, Gabrielle (19 August 2022). "Björk announces new "mushroom album" filled with gabber beats and bass clarinets". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
    7. Breihan, Tom (31 August 2022). "Björk Reveals Fossora Cover and Release Date". Stereogum. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
    8. Sanchez, Gabrielle (19 August 2022). "Björk announces new "mushroom album" filled with gabber beats and bass clarinets". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
    9. Zemler, Emily (19 August 2022). "Björk Announces Grief-Inspired New Album Fossora". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
    10. Monroe, Jazz (19 August 2022). "Björk Announces New Album Fossora". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
    11. Kornhaber, Spencer (30 September 2022). "How to Listen to Björk, According to Björk". The Atlantic. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    12. Monroe, Jazz (20 September 2022). "Björk: Mother, Daughter, Force of Nature". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
    13. Skinner, Tom (24 August 2022). "Björk announces new single "Atopos" and shares official Fossora artwork". NME. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
    14. Kenneally, Cerys (5 September 2022). "Björk to unveil Fossora lead single "Atopos" tomorrow". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
    15. Monroe, Jazz (14 September 2022). "Watch Björk's Majestic Video for New Song "Ovule"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
    16. "Ancestress (feat. Sindri Eldon) - Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
    17. Pearis, Bill (27 September 2022). "Bjork shares title track to Fossora (that's out this week)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
    18. "Bjork- Fossora (Indie Exclusive Green Vinyl)".
    19. "Fossora by Björk reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 30 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    20. "Fossora by Björk Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    21. Phares, Heather. "Björk – Fossora Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    22. Weaver, David. "Björk – Fossora". Clash. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    23. Smyth, David (30 September 2022). "Björk - Fossora review: Mushroom music is worth digging into". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
    24. Empire, Kitty (1 October 2022). "Björk: Fossora review – one of her hardest-hitting albums". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
    25. Brown, Helen (30 September 2022). "Bjork review, Fossora: Frank and loving reflections on the relationships between women". The Independent. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    26. Bridgewater, Paul. "Bjork's Fossora is a celebration of family, friendship and beats that bang hard". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    27. Doyle, Tom. "Björk – Fossora". Mojo. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    28. Mackay, Emily (29 September 2022). "Björk – 'Fossora' review: heavier – and more hopeful – than anything before". NME. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
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    51. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
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    На других языках

    - [en] Fossora

    [ru] Fossora

    Fossora — десятый[1] студийный альбом исландской певицы и музыканта Бьорк. Вышел 30 сентября 2022 года на лейбле One Little Independent Records.[2][3]


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