比约克(Bjork)2005年没出个人专辑，倒是参演了由她丈夫、实验电影导演、前卫艺术家马修·巴尼(Matthew Barney)执导的影片《Drawing Restraint 9》，并为其制作了一张原声。这个以非主流音乐起家最终却成为超越众多主流偶像、登上奥运会舞台的符号式人物，在个人专辑创作中难免要受潜在的、庞大的听众群限制，要保持姿态，还要吸引众人。如此下来，音乐做得一张不如一张，太多曾经追捧过她的人如今对她那些新专辑们无动于衷。
这个时候，能有这么一张“特别”的专辑，绝不是坏事。我们看到，她脱去偶像外衣，以制作人身份出手，确实潇洒了不少。原声在保留了比约克标志型元素的同时又不限于此，大胆地将音乐简化、细碎化、冰岛化、日本化，是一张以器乐为主，同时强调人声的实验专辑，这对于比约克来说，是尝试，也是个回归。
在乐器上，竖琴、管风琴、键盘、大键琴、钟、号、钢琴、打击乐器被大量使用，一些来自民间不知名的铜制、木制乐器也占了较大比重。由此制作出悦耳却孤立的音符，经过对乐器的精心搭配和对器乐的把握，和谐连贯地成了章节，且不失随意之感。这简直是冰岛乐人的拿手好戏，他们总能在旋律与实验性之间找到属于冰岛的位置。《Gratitude》和《Ambergris March》是专辑中最旋律化的歌曲，弦乐极尽动听之势，梦幻清脆的叮叮咚咚；《Hunter Vessel》则最为“枯燥”，单调反复，以氛围为重。影片拍摄于日本、讲述的也是日本的事物文化，原声中亦融进了很多日本音乐。且不说音乐中独特的诡异和神秘感觉，光是乐器很多就采自彼国民间。
人声也是一大聚焦点。比约克在整张专辑中只唱了《Bath》和《Storm》两首，没有歌词，她的人声完全成为对音色和唱腔的一场挑战，并以此来取代一部分器乐，这张唱片也因此被人称为“声乐式唱片”。专辑中的《Pearl》和《Holographic Entrypoint》也是两个极端，前者的人声完全取自一个孩子的喉音，被称为“Throat Singing”，由喉咙发出的各种各样的声响，奇异度不亚于蒙古呼麦；后者则是个中年男人，醉酒般絮絮叨叨地似说似唱着一大堆日文。这样的音乐，也只有在马修·巴尼的电影中能出现。由另类乡村唱作者Will Oldham演唱的《Gratitude》配以上述器乐、再加上童声合唱圣歌，成为专辑中难得的一首有歌词有旋律并且动听的曲目。
This soundtrack is composed by Björk with minimal vocals for celebrated contemporary visual artist Matthew Barney’s next film Drawing Restraint 9. Unlike her soundtrack for Lars von Trier’s film Dancer in the Dark which drew on the tradition of theatrical and cinema musicals (and won her Best Actress at Cannes), this is a collection of delicate single instrument studies for harp, harpsichord and celeste; large orchestral masses scored for trumpet, trombone and oboe, electronic basslines, children’s choir and, in a manner recalling the all-vocal Medulla album, Björk’s singular voice, treated as an instrument of astonishingly flexible texture. One Little Indian. 2005.
Honestly, fans of Bjork who are hoping for a massive return to the styles of pre-Medulla will probably be disappointed by this latest project. But judged on its own merits Drawing Restraint 9 remains an intriguing, but still somewhat forgettable experience. Bjork's trademark icy vocals take a backseat to Eastern influenced instrumentation. Aside from three tracks, the singing is performed by guest artists. "Pearl" sounds like an extension of "Ancestors" with its forceful, grating throat singing. Others simply come off as a bit dull and spiritless. They don't seem to have much blood in them. However, "Storm" is one recognizable highlight that evokes the chaotic rumbles of Homogenic. It's a fantastic version of a song that Bjork has only performed live up until now. I can't say this is a soundtrack that I will hold on to for a while, but it's something that's certainly worth a listen.
