"Hyper-ballad"

Björk
(Elektra, 1995)

Once a mere novelty in Iceland's answer to the B-52's, Björk Gudmundsdóttir's acrobatic voice came into its own as a serious force to contend with on 1995's Post. And the disc's crowning achievement was "Hyper-ballad," a sweet slice of dream pop seasoned with skittering club beats and smothered with techno atmospheres as forward-looking as anything that hit the radio or the dance floor in the first half of the decade. You can credit the all-star cast of producers (Nellee Hooper, Graham Massey, Howie Bernstein) with setting the stage for this artistic triumph, but it's that voice -- girlish yet sensual, playful and profound -- that brings down the house.

-- Matt Ashare