Life’s Too Good

Life may be too good, but unfortunately this album is not.

This didn't really stand out for me in any way, shape of form.

Es ist ein quirliges, schräges Debüt, das mit Björks ungezähmter Stimme und kantigem Post‑Punk sofort auffällt. Die Energie ist frisch, manchmal aber auch so verspielt und chaotisch, dass die Songs eher auseinanderdriften als zusammenfinden.

In the mid 90s, I spent a summer in Iceland during college and one afternoon in Reykjavik, I went with a local named Dori to an upscale coffee shop / bar. It was virtually empty and after we ordered coffees from the bar and took them to a table by the window., Dori asked, “Do you have any idea what just happened?” Completely lost, I gave an absent look as my reply. “You were just served coffee with sugar by a sugar cube.” I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.
Dori went on to explain that the Sugar Cubes were a popular Icelandic band, and that the guy behind the bar used to be in the band before they broke up a few years previously. I’d never heard of them but filed it away as weird Icelandic trivia and I went on with my summer of perpetual Nordic daylight.
Several decades later, here we are. Now, I don’t know if that guy was actually in the band or not, but I remember Dori’s story very well. This album sucked, but at least I have a fun anecdote to accompany it!

A very promising and energetic young post-punk band with an experimental Icelandic edge and a mesmerising lead singer in the form of Bjork. The Sugarcubes have that classic smudged and scratchy 1980s gothic post-punk sound but their explorative nature sets them apart. The best moments are where Bjork is given space to flex her vocals a bit and provide a unique performance. The joyful Birthday is a smash hit and this album's highlight.

A little too noisy and unstructured for me. but very cool to hear Bjorks early voice and zaniness

This was good but I wasn’t really in the mood for it

No nie wiem, dobrze się słuchało, ciekawa interpretacja: „Bjork jednak wybrała rocka zamiast oniryzmu”. Ale chyba nie wrócę do tej płyty szybko.

Malo mi se više dopada od same Bjork.

It's Björk's ethereal vocals again! It's definitely a debut album, aimless and inconsequential.

There's obviously a lot of comparisons here to the B-52s. But for me, someone who knows exactly one song by the B-52s (you know the one) it reminded me of The Cranberries, more than anything! Interesting and spacey guitar work, relatively simple song structures, a lead singer with a soaring, beautiful voice. Reminds me a bit of The Pixies too, for similar reasons. It makes total sense that Bjork found major success after this, her voice steals the show pretty much every time.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

If you like Bjork’s vocals, you’ll like this album. If you don’t, you probably won’t. I happen to love Bjork’s vocals. Her passion comes through here, albeit with more of a juvenile and occasionally overly sexual tone compared to almost all of her solo studio albums on the list. It’s a shift that isn’t too hard to adjust to, but it is a little jarring at first. The instrumentals that compliment Bjork are by far, the most traditional instrumentation yet, with a poppy post-punk lean that feels sort of like a mix between the Stone Roses & a calmer Sonic Youth. There’s also a male vocalist here in Einar Benediktsson, whose forceful spoken word approach generally works as a good contrast to Bjork’s more carnal stylings. It’s most apparent on “Delicious Demon” & “Deus”, and I think this album is better with him on it.

There’s not too much to say; a lot of these tracks are generally straightforward but compelling, so if you can get into the vibe from the instrumentals & if you can enjoy the vocals, this will generally hit as a surprisingly strong Icelandic post-punk album. The main reason I’m at a 4.5 is because more than a few tracks just sort of settled for their final minute, making the album not flow as cleanly as it could have. It’s still a breezy 33 minutes, but it could’ve been a little tighter & a little more adventurous. That said, a lot of these tracks just kinda rip, even if you’re not paying attention to the lyricism like that. I think the stretch from “Birthday” to “Deus” just kinda fucking rips, and each track has something cool going for it. It’s a really easy bump up to a 5, and I’m glad it’s on the list.

I'd like to have dated Björk in the 80s.
Bit quirky. Batty as a box of frogs. But I bet she was a wildcat in the sack. Ok maybe a bit too arty for me, so perhaps just a couple of months.

This album is made in the Björk image. The only downside are the talky bits dotted throughout which I found totally annoying.

The sugarcubes decided life's too good, so they decided to release this album into the world to humble us all

2 ⭐️

Haha, that 2nd top reviewer went on a fun journey. This album is also a very fun journey in a delightfully weird way, much like the Icelandic people in my limited experience.

Lulled into a false sense of security, thinking this was finally the gateway album to get me into Björk. Then the final four tracks happened, culminating in the dude going feral for the last moments of the record?! The meaning of it goes over my head, a fact I accept as the 7 prior tracks are absolute heat through and through. I'd be willing to warm up to it down the line! That's something I haven't felt for any other Björk project to date!

Standouts: Traitor • Motorcrash • Birthday • Delicious Demon • Cold Sweat • Blue Eyed Pop

Life's Too Good is tons of whimsical, slightly queasy fun. I wouldn't say The Sugarcubes were especially weird, but they *were* extremely quirky. And there *is* a difference. Caroliner are weird, They Might Be Giants are quirky. This has pop songwriting, playful irreverence, eclectic points of influence, and some punk ethos at the heart of it, quirky fits nicely. Also, very importantly, this has Bjork, who sounds remarkably similar to how she sounds on her later solo records (as opposed to her earlier solo records, they *are* out there). This also has something slightly dreamy about it, which may be the source of the aforementioned queasiness. The sound of this album is pretty raw, all things considered, so some dream pop-isms slipping in just kind of distort things. It's like the album is being viewed through a funhouse mirror. This effect is particularly pronounced on the single Birthday, which couples a subtle moodiness with Bjork's *very* distinct vocals and some "melty" production. Honestly, aside from a couple under-developed moments, this is a really solid tracklist too. Life's Too Good carries it's distinct tone and sound for the entirety of it's brisk runtime. The result is a very enjoyable album and a worthwhile entry into Bjork's *very* high achieving discography.

I’m not keen at all on Björk as a solo artist but this was quite a good listen. Wish she would’ve stuck to this

I'm sure these guys don't massively appreciate being solely known as 'Bjork's former band', but that's totally where I'm coming at this from. As a general fan of hers, I'm glad that this project has got me listening to this.

So this is fun! It's kind of weird and lively and I had a nice time with it.

Pretty cool