[4][5][6][7] The album was recorded mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic and centers around the theme of isolation, loss, and grief, mainly of the death of her mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, in 2018.

The album features contributions from American singer Serpentwithfeet, Björk's two children Sindri and Ísadóra, Indonesian dance duo Gabber Modus Operandi, and clarinet sextet Murmuri.

She described it as an "'Iceland album': often uninhibited and volatile, but also steeped in the country's choral and folk traditions, with strings Björk programmed at her local coffee shop."

The reversible two image sleeve featured Nick Knight and Viðar Logi imagery with black metallic hotfoil lettering designed by M/M Paris and crystal-clear vinyl.

[26] Concluding the review for AllMusic, Heather Phares declared that "On this soul-nourishing tour de force, her one-of-a-kind mix of innovation and emotion is as inspiring as it's ever been over her decades-long career.

"[28] At Clash, David Weaver claimed that, "there is no doubt that with Fossora, Björk is restating her individuality, thematically examining her place in the world as a 56-year old musician, whilst assuredly pushing sonic boundaries from neo-classical to industrial noise.

"[3] Paul Bridgewater shared similar sentiments in the review for The Line of Best Fit; "Fossora does indeed bang harder than any of her albums have for a long time and yet it's not an abrasive record at heart.

"[34] Pitchfork reviewer Jill Mapes described Björk's performance as being "grounded back on earth, searching for hope in death, mushrooms, and matriarchy, and finding it in bass clarinet and gabber beats.

The sonic landscape is still huge—awesome, as alien as it is familiar, full of otherworldly arrangements, tectonic beats, and craggy melodies that conjure the terrain of her native Iceland.

"[37] Austin Saalman compared the album less favorably to Björk's oeuvre, in the review for Under the Radar; "Fossora is less engaging than Utopia, Vulnicura, and Biophilia, and except for 'Ovule', 'Ancestress', and 'Allow', cannot compete with her 1990s and early 2000s output.

"Atopos" "Ovule" "Mycelia" "Sorrowful Soil" "Ancestress" "Fagurt Er í Fjörðum" "Victimhood" "Allow" "Fungal City" "Trölla-Gabba" "Freefall" "Fossora" "Her Mother's House"