10. The Rasmus — Play Dead
The ability of Finnish bands to take their craft and music very seriously, but not themselves personally, is a great source of hard rock music and entertaining cover versions. The Rasmus have a long history and they have performed for Finland’s other great gift to the world of music: Eurovision. For their tribute to Björk, they manage to find undertones of surf, overtones of emo, and depths of psychedelia to illustrate the emotional point of the work. The desperation of the original is not there, but is replaced with a steely pride in their capability to weather the storm. — Mike Tobyn
9. Bon Iver — Who Is It?
The concert version I quoted in the intro comes from a 9:30 Club performance NPR aired in 2011, when the band was touring Bon Iver, Bon Iver. But the best-sounding one I found is from this iTunes session. The band performed the song many nights on that tour—I saw one myself—and it was always a show highlight. His newly-expanded band added sounds like violin and trombone and beatboxing, while Justin Vernon manned the shaker and, more importantly, hit the high notes. Though the sound quality won’t be as good, you should watch a video too to get the full effect. — Ray Padgett
8. The Decemberists — Human Behaviour
Björk’s sound on “Human Behaviour” may be one of the best examples of how analog and, yes, human, she was able to make digital music sound in the ’90s. Who better to translate this sound into true analog, and mostly acoustic, than the wonderfully anachronistic Decemberists? Colin Meloy’s squeaky, break-prone voice approximates Björk’s admittedly prettier vocals and the band’s instrumental accompaniment sounds as though it were recorded in a small closet. The initial rolling timpani and skittering snares are impersonated by Meloy’s staccato picking on the bass strings of his acoustic guitar, but, after the first verse, the band fills out the sound with forward-mixed drums and a fuzzy, growling guitar. A piano and some other percussion somehow fit in the space as well. The song is not particularly complex in overall structure, but there’s so much happening under the main melody and beat. Meloy, used to singing missives about love and death and more death, digs in here to wring all the emotion out of the much less wordy but no less impactful lyrics. It’s clear the Decemberists appreciate the source material, and they treat it very well on this cover. — Mike Misch
7. The Twilight Singers — Hyperballad
How to cover one of Björk’s most idiosyncratic pieces, with its slow-building verses, its edge-of-the-precipice lyrics, and its chorus of euphoric house beats and electronic glitches? Especially if you are an American indie rock band? Well, the Twilight Singers, formed in 1997 by Greg Dulli as a side project to his group the Afghan Whigs, clearly had some idea. The Louisiana four-piece set the verses to fragile guitar lines and a lazy beat, with Dulli’s gravel-throated vocals to the fore. They also notched up the angst on the chorus with the inestimable aid of gravel-voiced supremo Mark Lanegan, against layers of guitar effects that all made for an incredibly moody affair. The band could, as a result, add a deeply impressive Björk reimagining to deeply soulful covers album in the form of 2004’s She Loves You, released, suitably enough, on One Little Indian. — Adam Mason
6. Beta State — Unravel
Beta State pulls off the Wall-of-Heavy-Tremolo Sound like nobody’s business on their cover of “Unravel.” Where Björk uses vocals, strings, church organ, and harp to weave her aural spell, Ryan Hernandez brings his guitar to bear, crashing one warm wave after another down hard on the listener, while Matt McDonald matches Björk in anguish. They may be called Beta State, but this cover is alpha all the way. — Patrick Robbins
5. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy — I’ve Seen It All
2000’s Dancer in the Dark is a grim film, and not just in terms of subject matter. The well-documented conflict between its star Björk and compulsively controversial director Lars von Trier is even more distressing. The bright light in the darkness was Björk’s soundtrack for the film. Named for the character she plays, Selmasongs is a brilliant, theatrical, emotional seven-song powerhouse. Its best-known track, “I’ve Seen It All,” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The cover by Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, is a rustic and dusty hymn of resignation. Spare, heartbroken and heartbreaking. — Hope Silverman
4. Lido Pimienta — Declare Independence
Originally intended as a message and inspiration for the constituent nations of the Kingdom of Denmark, Colombian Canadian Lido Pimienta repurposed Björk’s anthem for 2021 Pride. Rendering the song almost unrecognizable, Pimienta replaces the harsh industrial keyboards and noise with elements of contemporary pop and Colombian music. She sings the song both at a different pace and with completely different intonation and meaning. To further indicate this is her version for causes she is passionate about, Pimienta adds Spanish lyrics. She completely transforms the song from an angry diatribe to a celebration of one’s own identity and culture. — Riley Haas
3. Ane Brun — Jóga
Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun serves up some real Shirley Bassey-style drama in her live symphonic cover of “Jóga.” Over a bed of swirling strings by Hans Ek and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brun coos the verses before beginning her ascent up the vocal ladder in her stunning, singular vibrato. Despite its theatricality, there is fragility in this version of the kindred soul-transcendent friendship anthem as it marches forward with heartrending and tearful dignity: the song itself feels as though it is about to cry. — Hope Silverman
2. Death Cab for Cutie — All Is Full of Love
Percussion is key to all music, and Björk is a keen student of music of many types. She deploys it knowingly, sometimes viscerally, sometimes delicately, sometimes inferred, sometimes not at all. On the album version of “All is Full of Love” from Homogenic, there are no drums, and the rhythm section is an industrial beat, and that message is carried on in the iconic video.
Death Cab for Cutie love the song and the message, and it was something they turned to for many years, from its inclusion in an EP in 2001 onwards, making Björk their most-covered artist. Their version focuses heavily on the drums. Not as a rebuke of Björk’s negation of the original, but as what a cover should be. The drums are central, not as a rebuke but as a valid reimagining. Utterly fantastic work from Jason McGerr as the fulcrum on this. — Mike Tobyn
1. Lady Maisery — Hyperballad
Is Björk a traditionally good singer? I’m going to slip that question, the answer broadly irrelevant, given that she is unquestionably an effective vocalist, her delivery integral to her songs. But Lady Maisery, who are unquestionably good singers, by losing most of the splendid electronic artifice the Icelander lays around her voice, reveal the sparse and spartan beauty of the song, making more overt the horror within. With Hannah James, Hazel Askew and Rowan Rheingans (each established performers in their own right) working together as a trio, any need for background decoration seems unnecessary, the click of fingers all that is required. Sublime. — Seuras Og
