Android-plucked strings wrap themselves suggestively around pulsing rhythmic diodes as Björk's ice-cold voice causes precision-built machinery to fissure and crack. The ghosts of Ridley Scott and Philip K Dick haunt the quieter spaces of a production that soundtracks a vision of the future in which clinical does not necessarily mean cold; seduction need not involve warmth. Instead, Björk's vision in "All Is Full Of Love", lifted from 1997 meisterwerk "Homogenic", is one of cyber-eroticism and robotic passion. This is encapsulated perfectly in the extraordinary video, the song's languid and lubricated tones providing perfect sonic backdrop to Björk's cyber re-engineering. Eyes mist, limbs caress, pistons pump and fluid flows in a remarkably tasteful bit of sci-fi steaminess that will make your DVD drive whir in excitement (this, incidentally, being the first UK single release to take advantage of the new format - and this artistically adroit and ultra-modern opus is its perfect debut).
If the a-side is the sound of two robots slowly sedcucing each other with gentle electronic caresses, the Funkstorung mix on the b-side is the sound of them consummating their relationship noisily on top of a sheet of corrugated iron. Who gets to sleep on the oily patch? The strings version which is the third track on offer here is back in dreamy Bladerunner territory, the sweeping warm string sounds pushed through the mix like honey through a sieve.
Still as impressively original and innovative as ever, Björk forges ahead on a quite unique road - one that I hope she introduces some new material on soon.
Rating: 10/10
The Rest
Forget the Farty Menace and all that Jedi knight crap: film of the summer is undoubtedly going to be Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me, eschewing po-faced sci-fi shenanigans for non-stop double entendres and knob jokes. Whether you agree with this point of view or not, Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" (from that film's soundtrack) is a damn sight better than anything John Williams can come up with. Swapping her earth mother apparel for a flower-power mini dress and headband, Maddy graces us with her poppiest offering for quite some time, a hippy-trippy bit of bubblegum featuring a fantastic chorus filled with "da da da da da" lyrics and swirling organ sequences, plus a great big synth riff that takes a feather boa to your nether regions. A fab flute wig-out at the end adds icing to an already tasty cake. Yeah, baby.
B-sides are both remixes: the "Calderone Club Mix" and the "Calderone Radio Mix", the only difference between them being one of length. Both of them take the song and chase off the 60s-ish production with 90s house beats and disco trappings that see it emerging into the spotlight like some restyled 60s sex symbol: unfamiliar, yet still as alluring.
Rating: 9/10
After the refreshing innovation and invention of Björk and Madonna, Jake Shillingford's band of boys with guitars comes as a bit of a let-down. Having said that however, "It's A Girl Thing" contains enough melodrama and kitchen-sink romanticism to set it apart from the Casts and Shed Sevens of the world (although, to go off on a tangent for a while, Rick F Witter's latest is actually quite a catchy little number). Sounding uncannily like Squeeze, My Life Story relate a pop-psychology couch of a song about gender differences ("In her arms or in her clutches, you'll never know what she thinks"), in a relatively enjoyable and inoffensive manner. Not a comeback to get particularly excited about, but then had you actually realised that My Life Story had gone away?
"Emerald Green Blah Blah Blah" betrays its Mark E Smith style title by sounding once again like Squeeze crossed with Pulp - not a particularly bad thing, but not a tremendously exciting one either. "Florence's Theme" is string-laden and Barryesque, and slow and lullaby-like enough to warrant me saying "time for bed".
A pale imitation of The Divine Comedy, perhaps, but that's still better than being the real Texas.
Rating: 6/10
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