Lists
January: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Sven Väth, Fever Ray, Nabihah Iqbal, Björk and more
Björk 'Utopia' (One Little Indian)
Let’s not beat around the proverbial bush: Björk’s last LP, ‘Vulnicura’, was no carefree walk in the park. It was bloody, brutal and covered in bruises, the result of an ill-timed breakup. But ‘Utopia’ is an absolute turn towards the light, and it’s covered in flutes (especially on ‘Courtship’); as a result, it’s an album you’ll want to return to again and again. You’ll already know ‘The Gate’, which is Björk and co-producer Arca at their romantic, wide-eyed best, but it’s also joined by ‘Loss’ and the near career-highlight ‘Body Memory’. The Rabit co-produced ‘Loss’, meanwhile, is an expert exploration of the human condition with some of the finest beats we’ve heard this year, while ‘Future Forever’ finds an optimistic Björk in world-beating form. Ralph Moore
9/10
