• Record Label: Nonesuch
  • Release Date: Oct 11, 2011
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 37
  2. Negative: 0 out of 37
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  1. 90
    Biophilia is an excellent addition to her glorious discography.
  2. Nov 1, 2011
    80
    Biophilia is a delicate and highly tactile treat, a unique gem of innovation (pipe organs driven by computers, the mallet-tickled gameleste) and gentle real soul whose breathy endearing heights Bjork hasn't touched in a minute.
  3. Uncut
    Oct 18, 2011
    80
    You may not be whistling these songs or dancing to them, but Biophilia's unsettling visions are compelling art. Oct 2011, p.92]
  4. Oct 14, 2011
    84
    The challenging but exceedingly rewarding Biophilia is at its heart a deeply moving, mind-expanding tribute to how that most ineffable of human achievements.
  5. Oct 13, 2011
    88
    Biophilia is Björk, the sum total, and this album is her continued claim to the throne as the monarch of avant-pop.
  6. Oct 13, 2011
    80
    Educational and emotional in a uniquely approachable way, these songs are a lovely part of a bigger picture.
  7. Oct 13, 2011
    62
    As an innovator, she's as vibrant as ever, but as a songwriter, she sounds tired.
  8. Oct 12, 2011
    80
    Nothing here is complex or highbrow, but instead filled with the joy and clarity of understanding and connecting.
  9. Oct 11, 2011
    80
    There's not a lot of replay value in Björk's new mode, but it still works humbly well and the computer visuals go a long way toward expanding on the fragile, chamber orchestra feel of the music.
  10. Oct 11, 2011
    70
    While I'm not convinced Biophilia overcomes the slump as an album, every song has something going for it.
  11. Oct 11, 2011
    85
    More than anything else, it makes you think.
  12. Oct 11, 2011
    80
    When Bjork's supernatural voice soars in "Thunderbolt"--"Craving miracles"--soul easily trumps software.
  13. Oct 11, 2011
    90
    Biophilia the "Bjork album" stands with the best of them.
  14. Oct 10, 2011
    80
    From the ashes of Volta, an album that occasionally felt like a career-killer, has come an album of startling beauty, furious invention, and inviting, warm atmosphere.
  15. It finds the singer in meditative mood--this is, by some distance, the least playful Björk album--and, amid soundscapes made from tinkling harps and bells and deep electronic burps and farts, she's an uncharacteristically discreet presence, a humble narrator of the wider story she's trying to tell.
  16. Oct 10, 2011
    70
    As much as the last four or so tracks do to redeem what is too often a failed and overly formal experiment in hyper-theoretical songcraft, the insoluble problem of Biophilia is that Björk has chosen to inflate what is ultimately one of her least essential musical statements to such spectacular proportions.
  17. Oct 10, 2011
    80
    Biophilia is no clever-clever cacophony. Like the natural world from which it draws inspiration, the album has structure and convention. And there is always the anchor of Björk's voice and her words, which conjoin emotional forces and elemental processes.
  18. 90
    It is that rarest of things, a record so particular to Björk's own artistry that no-one could ever hope to replicate it.
  19. Oct 10, 2011
    80
    Much of Biophilia holds you rapt because of the painstaking details.
  20. Oct 7, 2011
    100
    Biophilia is one of Bjork's best and most challenging records; it's in a galaxy all its own, one that's not for the faint of heart.
  21. Oct 7, 2011
    90
    Though Biophilia is hardly easy listening, even by Bjork's challenging, outlandish standards, there's little doubting it'll stand as one of the more rewarding albums of her storied career.
  22. Oct 7, 2011
    80
    Whatever happens with the technology and wherever the arguments over music, art and commerce drag themselves to next, it's these songs that are the triumph here.
  23. 100
    It's surprisingly accessible, hypnotic and beautiful if you give it time and concentration.
  24. Oct 6, 2011
    75
    At the heart of it though, we're still left with what's Björk's been doing for most her whole life: music.
  25. Oct 6, 2011
    80
    It's certainly restless and innovative, but Biophilia never feels like hard work, however much the accompanying bumf tries to convince you it is.
  26. Oct 5, 2011
    90
    It's a mesmerising album which confirms that Björk can weave dumfounding wonders from Silly String--whatever's placed before her, she can turn to her advantage, taking her audience on a trip the likes of which no other contemporary artist is capable of planning, let alone embarking on. In a word: amazing.
  27. Mojo
    Oct 5, 2011
    80
    Even when she blinds her audience wit science, though, Bjork's vision remains remarkable. [Oct 2011, p.97]
  28. Oct 5, 2011
    80
    Whilst the musical content here is unlikely to shock or surprise Bjork's loyal admirers, it sees her continue to pursue her own radical and individual path with unshakeable conviction.
  29. Q Magazine
    Oct 5, 2011
    80
    Biophilia is a wonderful record in the most literal sense; it overflows with wonder. [Oct 2011, p.111]
  30. 91
    The singer's greatest strength remains the glistening natural resource flowing from her throat.
  31. 75
    It's a grower--don't go in without some time to invest, or the desire to listen multiple times and peel apart these lavishly constructed layers.
  32. Oct 5, 2011
    90
    This music really doesn't need any window dressing because it's as good a collection of songs as she has put her name to in ten years.
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 311 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 26 out of 311
  1. Nov 20, 2011
    10
    This is an album that will certainly musically challenge you. When I first heard it I thought "what the hell is that?", but after someThis is an album that will certainly musically challenge you. When I first heard it I thought "what the hell is that?", but after some listening I found the beauty hidden within it. This reminds me of Radiohead's "Kid A", which was so different from it's predecessors that I had a hard time liking it, but then again that is one of my favorite albums of all time. To sum up, don't judge this album when you first heard it, let it speak to you and when it does you will be amazed, no doubt about it. Full Review »
  2. Oct 12, 2011
    5
    This is not one of Bjork's better efforts. Vespertine,Homogenic,even Medulla are
    far superior.I tried to like it and there are some songs that
    This is not one of Bjork's better efforts. Vespertine,Homogenic,even Medulla are
    far superior.I tried to like it and there are some songs that are interesting but
    I just cannot get into it.

    I really like Bjork alot but it seems her best work is sadly behind her.
    Full Review »
  3. Oct 11, 2011
    5
    It took Bjork over four years to finish this, but frankly I have no idea what was she doing all that time. "Biophilia" is better than the 2007It took Bjork over four years to finish this, but frankly I have no idea what was she doing all that time. "Biophilia" is better than the 2007 disaster called "Volta", but the album feels strangely empty and unpolished. There are some great ideas here and moments of beauty, yet the CD as a whole is not as engaging as her best stuff - Homogenic, Vespertine and Medulla. And I really have a feeling that Bjork cares more about being weird and avant garde than making good music. Full Review »