Life’s Too Good

Dit album wilde ik al eerder eens luisteren en een paar dagen geleden werd ik er door Spotify op getipt. Tja, of The Beatles uitluisteren in opdracht van de 1001 of iets anders luisteren. Die keuze is snel gemaakt.

Dus vandaag luister ik het album voor de tweede maal in korte tijd. En dat gaat eigenlijk prima. Het album toont soms duidelijk de tijd waarin het gemaakt is, soms kiest het voor meer sfeer, en soms voor een soort duitse synthpop klank. Om Björk kan je niet heen. Maar eerlijk gezegd heeft haar excentrieke zang nooit meer zo goed bij de rest gepakt. Al met al is het een unieke beleving, maar op de een of andere manier toch erg toegankelijk.

4,5 ster

I don't think people would care about this at all in 2025 if it wasn't for Björk. Her voice is spectacular obviously but literally any of her solo albums are a better listen than this

Fun new wave pop with some dreamy shimmer and post punk angularity to go with the bouncy bass - the mix is cure, siouxsie & cocteau twins combined with devo & talking heads. Synthesizes a lot of 80s sounds and presages a ton of 90s alt rock style. What a voice! A spectacular range from guttural lows and shattering highs within moments.

Without 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥, the Icelandic music scene with bands like Sigur Rós, múm, or Of Monsters and Men might never have made it past Reykjavík’s record shops. Björk Guðmundsdóttir had already cut her first solo album in 1977 at the age of eleven (a collector’s holy grail today) and played in bands like Tappi Tíkarrass and Kukl, but this is where her voice truly exploded onto the international stage.

The Sugarcubes sound like nothing else: jagged post-punk colliding with eccentric pop, half naïve, half unhinged. 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 drips with surreal innocence, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 turns a grisly accident into gleeful absurdity, and 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢 is both tender and unsettling. Einar Örn’s half-shouted, half-spoken vocals are chaotic, sometimes maddening, but they give the record its crooked charm.

Weird, playful, and unforgettable, 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 is a debut that made Iceland more than just volcanoes and geysers — it put Reykjavík’s weirdness on the world map. The press only wanted Björk, but the chaos was the whole point.

2.54

Gonna form a cover band called The Splendas

This was tough to get through. Every time I noticed him, the male singer(s?) was ruining a perfectly good Bjork song.

I mean, I guess bjork had to be in a band at some point prior to the becoming bjork we know? I almost wish, in addition to the more experimental stuff she'd made, that she'd kept on with this kind of weirdo Icelandic pop-punk?

Not what I expected. You can definitely tell it was mostly a vehicle for Bjork. 2/5

Aight I guess I don't know

Life’s Too Good is a fresh discovery for me—I wasn’t familiar with The Sugarcubes or aware that Björk was their lead singer. Her distinctive vocals really shine throughout the album, adding an otherworldly charm to the band’s sound.

The record is a bold and quirky mix of post-punk and new wave, full of unpredictable energy and off-kilter melodies. It’s inventive without losing its pop edge, with standout tracks like "Birthday" and "Motorcrash" showcasing the band's unique blend of rawness and playfulness.

Favourite Tracks: "Birthday" and "Mama" both stood out for their dynamic arrangements and Björk’s emotive delivery.
Least Favourite Track: Honestly, nothing felt skippable—each track brought something interesting to the table.
Album Artwork: Eye-catching and strange in a good way—perfectly in tune with the band’s eccentric vibe.

Fourth best Icelandic band after Sólstafir, Misþyrming, and Svartidauði.

Super creative & unique post punk/pop.

4.5/5.0: Excellent

this isnt what i was expecting after reading bjork was the vocalist. enjoyed the vocals from her but the dudes vocals threw me off a bit. the songs were interesting and didnt drag on like a lot of post punk tends to do

Overall good. It had a lot of interesting stuff going on.

Nice to hear Björk in another setting. I actually prefer her solo stuff!

80s Bjork

Lots of fun.

I don’t even make an effort to understand the words Bjork is saying. Are they English? Icelandic? Going off of sound and vibes only they are pretty good. The rest of the band is pretty good too and this is a fun album. Favorite songs were Motorcrash, Birthday, Coldsweat, and F***ing In Rhythm & Sorrow.

This as i can see from the comments is a divisive album. I finally am in the group that loves the album. Didn't take too long to realize that Bjork is on this one, and I think she made this one shine. And I'm really glad I could also recognize the similarity to B-52s. I don't think that this is any worse than them.

I loved the themes, the instrument sounds and of course the Icelandic girlie's voice on this one. I want to listen again in the future for sure

I was going to give this a four but I'm just so surprised that I actually like something that Bjork did so I upped it. 😅

I honestly haven’t actually listened to any of Bjork’s work, so I had no idea what to expect from this, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Favourite tracks: Birthday, Delicious Demon, Mama, Blue Eyed Pop, Sick for Toys. F***king in Rhythm & Sorrow, Dragon