You always know that Bjork's latest album is going to be a head trip. Always worthy of a listen and some applause for her sheer uniqueness but there is confusion - is it good or just different?

The title came ffrom her interest in the word Voltage [see, you have this for starters - she's interested in a word!] and there is plnty of sharp jolts in this avant garde offering.
The most electricity is charged in the pulse of DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDANCE. In fact there is a propogandist feel to the whole album, highly punctuated by some of the track titles. This is a messianic piece telling you that you should 'raise your flag higher, higher'. Another tells that the EARTH INTRUDERS are already here creating 'turmoil carnage'. Other flash messages include that she's 'giving urban a farewwll' and 'you can trust [the world] if you breathe it bravely'. The CD has many messages surrounding many moods and settings.

There are little audio snips of water, ships,morse code and SFX - all desinged to displace you as soon as the next track starts. On one track she sings through a voxbox which produces so much distortion I thought my stereo had broken.

The most accessible track is EARTH INTRUDERS which is about a poppy as the album gets. DULL FLAME OF PASSION is a 17th century poem with the heartache of a voice from Anthony Hegarty. As for the voice of Bjork is it more noticable than ever that she mostly sings in one speed no matter what the temp or beat of the track is and it's this which grated a little. T8 has a credit to the toumini diabate????? PNEUMONIA is a lyric in search of a song, in search of a tune. Other lyrics are not at all surreal, quite simplistic and beautiful. INNOCENCE has a back beat which sounds as if a guy is being beaten to a pulp and I SEE YOU is truly enchanting.

Good or just different, well the latter definately. I don't think i can judge if it's good as I just don't understand her music but I do like it bit what exactly do you do with a Bjork CD in your collection? It's like housing a small sound museum which you know has some merit but will you actually play it again?

This is Bjork, not me:

when i once was
untouchable
innocence roared
still amazes
when i once was innocent
it's still here
but in different places

Innocence - Volta

Change is the name of the game. Scaffolded is enveloping my house as we speak as stage one starts of an 8 week build for our loft conversion. Scary and exciting all at the same time.

Sis rings yesterday to say that the farmhouse she has been waiting to move into will be ready by the end of next month. Go visit my mum last night who tells me she's been offered a ground floor flat where she currently lives.

Also made the decision to move from PC to Mac next year, fed up of glitches, maintenance and spedning money on updates all the while.

Then come the the blog to write and the look of it has changed.

Maybe I should have read my stars at the weekend, they could have warned me.

Oh, and my cat is still depressed. he's a sun worshipper and not use to wearing a watch, he guages time by the seasons and he knows that he should be bathing in the rays at the moment and so all this rain is making him look very pathetic, as we all do I guess.