Bjork returned to her “second home” of London with a triumphant and visually stunning show at the O2 Arena which invoked a stark message about climate change.
The Cornucopia Tour may be light on hits, but it is heavy on imagery – with astounding CGI, costumes and choreography all underscored by what remains one of the most uniquely powerful voices in pop.
As with her most recent album, 2017’s Utopia – from which the majority of the setlist is made up – aural and visual metaphors for the natural environment abound.
Along with a video message from teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, at one point the words “Imagine a future. Be in it” were projected on the stage.
And so she was – the singer herself often seeming to be enveloped by the stunningly choreographed drama around her, evoking a fantastical world of lush environmental plenty.
Musically, too, Bjork’s lavish and involved arrangements were supported by a diverse range of accompaniments – Icelandic choir, flute ensemble, Punjabi Dhol, and at one point even pouring water as percussion.
Almost uniquely for an arena show of this size, the audience of thousands did not seem one bit short-changed by a set which featured precisely none of the songs that made her famous.
Venus As A Boy, now re-rendered as an ethereal flute ballad, and a stirring Isobel were the only appearances from the Scandinavian star’s much-loved 1990s output.
In the end, it was difficult to be anything other than agog at the the sheer scale and emotional pull of the most ambitious tour in Bjork’s 40 years in music.
