Revisiting Björk's Vespertine

A history of her outstanding but underrated fourth solo album, plus 5 great records that inspired it

The year was 1999; it had been six years since Björk had been propelled into superstardom with the release of Debut.

By now, she was in her mid-30s and her clubbing days in London long gone. A couple of short-lived relationships had failed.

The previous year, she’d gone back to her native Iceland with her 12-year-old son. In spring, she temporarily moved…