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Released: July 13, 1993


Rating: 4.524 (average of 7 ratings)


Genre: alternative rock/ electronica


Quotable: --


Album Tracks:

  1. Human Behaviour
  2. Crying
  3. Venus as a Boy
  4. There’s More to Life Than This
  5. Like Someone in Love
  6. Big Time Sensuality
  7. One Day
  8. Aeroplane
  9. Come to Me
  10. Violently Happy
  11. The Anchor Song


Sales:

sales in U.S. only 1 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated 600,000
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 1.6 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 61
peak on U.K. album chart 3


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Human Behaviour (6/19/93) #36 UK, #2 MR
  • Venus as a Boy (9/4/93) #29 UK
  • Big Time Sensuality (12/4/93) #88 US, #17 UK, #5 MR
  • Violently Happy (3/19/94) #13 UK


Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more.


Debut
Björk
Review:
“Freed from the Sugarcubes’ confines, Björk takes her voice and creativity to new heights on Debut, her first work after the group’s breakup. With producer Nellee Hooper’s help, she moves in an elegantly playful, dance-inspired direction, crafting highly individual, emotional electronic pop songs like the shivery, idealistic One Day and the bittersweet Violently Happy” (Phares).

“Despite the album’s swift stylistic shifts, each of Debut’s tracks are distinctively Björk. Human Behaviour’s dramatic percussion provides a perfect showcase for her wide-ranging voice; Aeroplane casts her as a yearning lover against a lush, exotica-inspired backdrop; and the spare, poignant Anchor Song uses just her voice and a brass section to capture the loneliness of the sea” (Phares).

“Though Debut is just as arty as anything she recorded with the Sugarcubes, the album’s club-oriented tracks provide an exciting contrast to the rest of the album’s delicate atmosphere. Björk’s playful energy ignites the dance-pop-like Big Time Sensuality and turns the genre on its head with There’s More to Life Than This. Recorded live at the Milk Bar Toilets, it captures the dancefloor’s sweaty, claustrophobic groove, but her impish voice gives it an almost alien feel” (Phares).

“But the album’s romantic moments may be its most striking; Venus as a Boy fairly swoons with twinkly vibes and lush strings, and Björk’s vocals and lyrics – ‘His wicked sense of humor/Suggests exciting sex’ – are sweet and just the slightest bit naughty. With harpist Corky Hale, she completely reinvents Like Someone in Love, making it one of her own ballads” (Phares).

“Possibly her prettiest work, Björk’s horizons expanded on her other releases, but the album still sounds fresh, which is even more impressive considering electronic music’s whiplash-speed innovations. Debut not only announced Björk’s remarkable talent; it suggested she had even more to offer” (Phares).


Review Source(s):


Last updated April 13, 2008.