In a post on her social media feeds, Björk—or, if you are struggling with her penmanship, “Gork”—has announced that her new album will be “coming soon.”
She closed the missive with the word “Warmthness,” which has become something of a tradition in Björkland, a magical place full of giant stuffed bears and iridescent alligators. She’s been using the word, which one online dictionary helpfully defines as “Apparently from warmth and -ness, or, a blend of warmth and warmness,” for several years—in the anouncement for her previous album, Vulnicura, or the introduction to a book of sheet music. Before that, it would seem, Björk favored the simpler “Warmth,” whether she was posting old videos to her Facebook page, thanking live audiences, or ending a Reddit AMA. She even released a “Warmth Mix” of “My Juvenile,” from her 2007 album Volta, whose lyrics read: “Down the corridor/ I send warmth/ I send warmth/ Down the staircase/ I send warmth/ I send warmth.”
Why the apparent preoccupation with warmth? Well, for one thing, Björk is from Iceland, and although the idea that Iceland has a frigid climate is largely a popular misconception (Greeland is the cold one), it can nevertheless get pretty chilly there sometimes. Most artists like to send their fans love, but given that Björk’s last album was a heartbreaking chronicle of the dissolution of her marriage, maybe a vaguely cozy increase in temperature seems like a safer and more reliable thing than love.
The prospective album has no title, tracklist, or release date, but you can pre-order it via Björk’s website.
