Medulla

With 2004's Medulla, Bjork's already distinctive musical vision is catapulted into another stratosphere. Using the mouth as the primary instrument - vocal, percussive, and otherwise - Medulla evokes the ethereal sound of an angelic spirit and a group of Benedictine monks desperately hurtling through outer space. Pleasure Is All Mine immediately establishes Medulla's haunting, yet strangely comforting, tone. On top of a distorted background of carnal breathing, the vocals of Bjork, Inuit throat singer Tagaq, Mike Patton (Fantomas / Mr. Bungle), and the Icelandic Choir combine with the rhythms of human beat-box Rahzel, building to an eerily ferocious intensity. The album, which also features art-rock pioneer Robert Wyatt, shifts back and forth between ambitious, operatically layered tracks (Where Is the Line and Desired Constellation) and more direct a cappella songs (Show Me Forgiveness, and Oll Birtan). Bjork reaches her peak