[7] Five singles were released from Debut: "Human Behaviour", "Venus as a Boy", "Play Dead", "Big Time Sensuality" and "Violently Happy".

While performing as the vocalist of Icelandic alternative rock group the Sugarcubes, Björk approached Ásmundur Jónsson of Bad Taste and producer Derek Birkett of One Little Indian Records with a demo cassette of her own songs.

[25] Michael Cragg of The Guardian described it as an "indefinable conflation of electronic pop, trip-hop, world music and otherworldly lyrics".

[28] The Face's Mandi James felt Debut was "a delightful fusion of thrash metal, jazz, funk and opera, with the odd dash of exotica thrown in for good measure.

"[25] Debut incorporates dance music, reflecting the contemporary styles of London's club culture, with which Björk had established close ties.

[31] While elements of subgenres such as Euro-house, acid jazz, worldbeat and IDM are present, "they hadn't yet broken free from the primal thump of four-on-the-floor house music.

"[33] The four on the floor style, typical of house music, is evident in songs such as "Human Behaviour", "Crying", "Big Time Sensuality", "There's More to Life Than This" and "Violently Happy".

"[35] Her departure from the guitar-driven rock of her previous work stemmed from the feeling that it was outdated, arguing that "as soon as any form becomes traditional, like the guitar, bass and drums, then people start to behave traditionally," and that "it's really difficult to get a band to stay on the edge using typical bass, guitar and drums setup because it tends to lapse into a predictable form.

"[33] Björk's embrace of England's dance culture also extended to her image, considered representative of 1990s acid house fashion.

[36][37] Hooper had been a member of Bristol's "Wild Bunch", a group that took from acid jazz, funk and hip hop and helped create trip-hop.

[23] i-D noted that Debut—and Björk's subsequent album Post—integrate ambient techno and jungle, stating that they "couldn't have existed without Aphex Twin, Black Dog, A Guy Called Gerald, LFO and all the other producers who reshaped the language of music since 1988.

"[42] Tim Perlich of Now felt Debut "bridges jazz and pop",[43] and Simon Reynolds characterized it as "jazzy love songs tinged with an oceanic feeling.

[44] The first track "Human Behaviour" features a "bouncing riff" sampled from Antônio Carlos Jobim, with "its syncopated beat consigned to a venerable orchestral instrument, the timpani.

[45] Following track "Crying" shows a contradiction between its "bubbly, shiny-surfaced acid disco-pop" sound and lyrics that describe the turmoil of feeling alienated in a big city.

[48] "Venus as a Boy"—considered an ambient track by Rolling Stone[33]—reflected Björk's newly found interest in Bollywood, having befriended people of Indian origin in London, most notably tabla player Talvin Singh.

[50] "Like Someone in Love" is one of the several jazz standards she recorded with Corky Hale,[48] with her voice "cradled in harp and swoony strings.

[25][48] An "anthem to emotional bravery," it contains lyrics described as "simple but passionate", concerning Björk's relationship with her co-producer Nellee Hooper.

[40] "One Day" also presents a sudden shift of mood, featuring a "gently pulsing bass" that builds into an "itchily impassioned, housey pop euphoria.

[52] "Come to Me" features a "hazy musical backdrop of raindrop synths, padded drums and sweeping strings";[26] lyrically, it explores a "sensually intense need to nurture.

[48] In the song, over "brisk house beats" Björk sings in a stammering fashion, as she "struggles to express feelings of excitement so intense she seems on the brink of leaping out of her skin.

One of the three songs to appear on her first demo cassette of 1990, it features Oliver Lake playing the saxophone, in an arrangement that replicated the "ebb and tide of an ocean's peaking tops, an image reinforced by Björk's fiercely patriotic lyrics.

In November 1993, the album was re-issued in the United Kingdom with the bonus track "Play Dead", a song written for the film The Young Americans, shortly after Debut's completion.

[12] The final single released in 1993 was "Big Time Sensuality" remixed by Fluke with a music video by Stéphane Sednaoui.

"[76][78] The Independent gave Debut a favorable review noting that Björk had "fashioned an amazing array of contrasting arrangements, whose musical diversity never interferes with their clarity of vision.

Musician magazine praised the vocals of the album, stating "what makes [Björk's] singing memorable isn't the odd assortment of growls, moans and chirps she relies upon, but the emotions those sounds convey.

"[79] Michele Romero of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C, saying, "On a few songs, [Björk's] breathy mewl is a pleasant contrast to the mechanical drone of Sugarcube-like techno-tunes.

In Spin magazine's alternative record guide, the album received a rating of nine out of ten stating that the choice of Nellee Hooper as producer was a "stroke of genius" and Björk's vocals were "awe-inspiring".

It's an album whose influence is still felt any time electronic instrumentation is fused with folk or jazz, or whenever a new female singer is described as "kooky" or "refreshing"."

[...] Debut didn't just establish Björk; it helped make sounds like that cool to a segment of the music-dork universe that might've remained deaf to its charms otherwise.

"[32] Björk's embrace of England's dance culture also extended to her looks, her style at the time considered representative of 1990s acid house fashion.