Music Battle: Post vs Endtroducing

Two giants of nineties Alternative Electronica, both who had moments where you couldn’t exist in that space in time without either artist having inserted themselves into the process of growing up. Bjork recollects as the end of a house party where the host was draped over an armchair clutching the jewel case of the album ‘Debut’ having surrendered his body to passing out to repeat playing of the David Holmes collaboration ‘Play Dead’. This memorial exists as a metaphor for both the person listening to it and the swirl of emotion that resonates during that song. Endtroducing as an album sits further forward in my brain as the first fours bars of ‘Building Steam…’ seemed to be everywhere I turned at the time. In an age before artists like Moby popularised electronica as backing tracks to TV Show idents and adverts, DJ Shadow seemed to permeate from every surface. He did this while also seeming never to trouble the mainstream charts. The student life often creates such heroes that soon fade away. 

While Bjork’s ‘Debut’ became one of my favourite albums of all time, Post didn’t cross my path in any major way (aside from the ubiquitous presence of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’) until these past two weeks. By the time Debut had started to release me from its grip, ‘Homogenic’ was on the scene. I often have meant to go back, but I’ll use the adage of there being so much music and so little time, leap to my defence. 

I have tried multiple times over the years with ‘Endtroducing’ and subsequently ‘Private Press’ but it has never grabbed me, despite contemporary greats such as Tricky, Leftfield and Portishead ranking high. I could never put my finger on why, aside from overexposure to one of the first tracks creating a barrier. 

So it was that the setting of this music battle commenced. 

I consider the greatest barrier to Bjork’s music not to be (as my wife would put it) the bat shit craziness of it all, but rather her individualised vocal delivery. She is an acquired taste however when the stylizing is glossed over, one of the most impactful voices in music today lies underneath. Exhibit A is found here in a track from Homogenic, where the purity of note that is delivered, even in a live performance is astonishing. 

There is innate beauty in how she phrases and sings that even her screaming and shouting (popularised through the aforementioned ‘It’s Oh So Quiet…’) can be heard as explosions of exuberant and unbridled joy. While her vocals are the facet, I’ve initially highlighted, it is the production of Bjork’s music that has often been considered her hallmark. The level of detail in tracks such ‘I Miss You’ and the transition of ‘You’ve Been Flirting Again’ into ‘Isobel’ exhibit a craft that few match. 

However, in matching it DJ Shadow ‘Endtroducing’ does. It is an album that flows from track to track as beautifully as the bass pushes at the soul. Tracks like ‘Changeling’ punctuate and punch in contrast to the muggy and wistfully layered accompaniment. It is food for every seat dancer amongst us, as bum cheeks and shoulder syncopate their movements. When the drums enter, it is in a traditional 4/4 beat, leaving the madness to continue unabated in the background. The entire song evokes a thought of sailing on the sea, where above the surface, everyday continues at its regular pace. The tick tock drum of the engine of the boat, the nets being pulled in and feet stamping on deck, contrasting with the confluence and rhythm of the life that lives below it. We change from below to above as the song progresses. 

It probably goes without saying at this stage but both albums are incredible, by any standards. Both scream craft from start to finish. There is nary a beat or note that appears in either album that does not serve a purpose. The act of picking out highlights seems futile as each track highlights another nugget to marvel at. Emotion streams from every fibre in my body as each album flows through the muscles. In addition, it seems reductive to classify Post or Endtroducing to genre. There is more going on here than Electronica, Pop or Hip Hop alone. Both pieces of art resonate with more than a singular voice. 

Decide we must. On numerous occasions, I considered awarding a draw to this battle but that is against the spirit of battle and music criticism. The existence of this blog post was a vain attempt to provide clarity. In what can only be considered a Sophie’s Choice, are the dancing arpeggios of Organ Donor more impactful than the mermaid calling of Isobel? Is the expression in Hyperballad more beautiful and touching than Midnight in a Perfect World? Is there more thrust in Army of Me than Changeling? Is it more skilful to create from scratch or to mesh disparate samples into something more than their original form? For some idea on this check out the samples used on Endtroducing alone. It is mind boggling. 

Using metrics I will attribute to one of my favourite music series on YouTube ‘What Makes this Song Great?’ by Rick Beato, it is often the finer touches that separate good from great, great from transcendent.  It is the little touches, the parts that initially go unnoticed that often make the biggest difference. 

To that end, I am declaring Post the winner in a battle that I couldn’t call closer. Note it down to my history to Debut if you like, attribute it to my desire to create music from scratch if it helps, but giving another day and another set of circumstances (we are in the midst of self-isolation at the moment) a different conclusion could be reached. If I listen to how the phone ringing melds into a platform for how ‘Possibly Maybe’ grows or how the harp overlays the rattle and bubble of the drums for ‘Cover Me’ with the occasional flourish of saxophone. Its sensational stuff and Nellie Hooper’s work in creating the difference should not be understated. With that said, it is Hyperballad which is the track that evokes the most and I’m left to consider that for all the clever and inventive the instrumentation and production is, it is the incredible delivery of vocals that are truly the difference.