Biophilia
by Björk
  • Record Label: Nonesuch
  • Release Date: Oct 11, 2011
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 311 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 257 out of 311
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 311
  3. Negative: 26 out of 311
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  1. All_ButTrU4
    Jun 8, 2022
    6
    6.9/10
    Nothing here really does anything new but given the past innovation she's displayed that is in no way a critique. It delivers all the elements of a björk record in acceptable ways. It has it's highlights and some songs that although enjoying less aren't bad just not as exciting as the others. It sounds like the blueprint for the more modern electronic musicians such as fka twigs    6.9/10
    Nothing here really does anything new but given the past innovation she's displayed that is in no way a critique. It delivers all the elements of a björk record in acceptable ways. It has it's highlights and some songs that although enjoying less aren't bad just not as exciting as the others. It sounds like the blueprint for the more modern electronic musicians such as fka twigs ,empress of or perfume genius.    … Expand
  2. Mamacita666
    Feb 4, 2022
    10
    De primeira eu não consegui absorver-lo e fiquei me perguntando o que diabos é isso mas escutando mais uma vez já é facil de absorve-lo
  3. potasioxd
    Sep 2, 2020
    7
    a pesar de tener un buen concepto acerca de la tecnología, naturaleza y espacio sinceramente creo que deja que desear. los instrumentos personalizados y súper elaborados solo para el álbum lo hace rescatable, digo, no hay ningún otro artista que haya manipulado la electricidad para usarla como un instrumento. sin embargo, algunas canciones no hacen sentir al oyente lo suficientementea pesar de tener un buen concepto acerca de la tecnología, naturaleza y espacio sinceramente creo que deja que desear. los instrumentos personalizados y súper elaborados solo para el álbum lo hace rescatable, digo, no hay ningún otro artista que haya manipulado la electricidad para usarla como un instrumento. sin embargo, algunas canciones no hacen sentir al oyente lo suficientemente satisfecho, creo yo. mis canciones favoritas son mutual core, sacrifice y virus.… Expand
  4. ElFranklo
    Sep 1, 2020
    9
    This album is so ahead of its time. It sounds so futuristic and galactic, its experimental-electronic and ethereal sound joined with its lyrical content are just beautiful, it can be kind of challenging for the average listener tho.
  5. u137288reddit
    May 10, 2018
    9
    Bjork manages to straddle contemporary styles of dubstep with high art and space. More an art piece than an album, but it's still really good.
  6. frostedcrow
    Apr 27, 2018
    10
    Biophilia is the most intellectual, innovative and tuneful album that i've heard. Björk has inserted some instruments that no one has heard before in a musical album like a gameleste (a mix of a gamelan and a celesta), a group of pendulums or a Tesla coil, and that carry a lot of work and mental effort. Also we can mention the atypical style of the music sheets, the change of measure andBiophilia is the most intellectual, innovative and tuneful album that i've heard. Björk has inserted some instruments that no one has heard before in a musical album like a gameleste (a mix of a gamelan and a celesta), a group of pendulums or a Tesla coil, and that carry a lot of work and mental effort. Also we can mention the atypical style of the music sheets, the change of measure and complexity of the notes. Björk has mixed the nature with the tecnology and the universe and it's almost magical how she use metaphors for explain natural laws or universe theories, and in the same time, the lyrics have a meaning for a moment in real life. "Solstice" can be the path of life, "Virus" the love, "Moon" the learning of our regrets, but out of that meaning it's just the explaining of science norms.
    In summary, Biophilia is a very full album who drive you into an outstanding experience about education and reflexion along all the listening. This album may change your life.    … Expand
  7. Gastropoda
    Dec 2, 2017
    2
    when you wanna do more than you can actually bear....you never succeed. The result is confusion, over-the-top themes and lack of musical sanity, really.
  8. Felipecritic
    Oct 31, 2017
    7
    Björk volta mais eletrônica que no Volta (k k k). Agora ela está mais adequada a sonoridade da década de 2010, voltada para o eletrônico, mas sem deixar sua essência de lado.
  9. triangles19
    Jul 24, 2017
    9
    Biophilia is the nocturnal album of Björk. The atmosphere is intimate, woody, sometimes windy and minimalist. Based on nature volumes, songs can be threatening or peace-full. The productions are smart, efficient and light. A perfect mixture of delicate warmth and comforting cold.
  10. marcmyworks
    Jun 30, 2017
    8
    Another Bjork album that is a grower; it took me several listens of Biophillia before I actually fell in love. I enjoy that each song is a different key on the tuning fork scale, however without doing research this was not extremely evident. Download: Mutual Core, Virus, Crystalline.
  11. LuisNicks
    Oct 1, 2016
    10
    This Album Is Perfect, And Is Great For Educational Purpose Awesome, Björk Is Just Like A Trip Into Nature, Perfect And Gameleste Hits Perfectly On Virus I Love It
  12. Stefarooh
    Sep 7, 2016
    8
    Been a lifelong fan of Bjork since her stunning "Debut" album came out in 1993. However, somewhere between Vespertine (my favorite Bjork album) and Volta, she lost me. I just couldn't get behind Medulla and Volta with all that brass irritated the **** out of me.

    Wasn't really sure what to make of Biophilia. First few listens where challenging to say the least (since Bjork has moved away    Been a lifelong fan of Bjork since her stunning "Debut" album came out in 1993. However, somewhere between Vespertine (my favorite Bjork album) and Volta, she lost me. I just couldn't get behind Medulla and Volta with all that brass irritated the **** out of me.

    Wasn't really sure what to make of Biophilia. First few listens where challenging to say the least (since Bjork has moved away from songs that are tuneful) , like every good Bjork album its beauty only becomes apparent after a few listens. Listened as a cohesive whole there are some stunning arrangements on Biophilia.

    While nowhere near as fantastic as the Bjork of Vespertine, Homogenic, Post and Debut - Biophilia is a solid and marked improvement over of Medulla and Volta.    … Expand
  13. replicant
    Oct 18, 2015
    10
    After a few listens I realized this was my favorite album by Björk. Still is. It was hard to get into it at first, but once I understood the album it became a delight to listen to. Favorite song is Thunderbolt. I understand why a lot of people have a hard time enjoying it, but for me it's not a problem at all.
  14. Aijixe
    Sep 24, 2015
    8
    Pushing 50, Bjork still shows the striking confidence she had in the 90s and early 00s with the likes of Homogenic and Vespertine. Sure, Biophilia is a must-have for fans of Bjork, but for newcomers, this album would be more of an acquired taste instead.
  15. CharlieGray
    Sep 10, 2015
    10
    It's an amazing album, and the way Björk wanted the nature mix with technology results amazing.
    Metaphores can result hard to understand -that's what happened with the critics- but when you do it, the result is brilliant.
  16. Melomaniac
    Jun 5, 2015
    10
    Simplicity hides very carefully behind tremendous arrangements and song structures; Biophilia (like its older sibling Medúlla) goes way further than mere music: it's an unforgettable, challenging and life-changing experience. Any other album should feel embarrassed if compared to it.

    9.7/10
  17. rebelheart123
    May 31, 2015
    10
    This album, like everything that comes out of Bjork, is wonderful, very innovative, is one of the best experimental albums I've heard, original, anyone singer who will try to copy it will go wrong because what Bjork created with this albumIt is something that only someone with the ability of it will get into something good
  18. jotaeseche
    Mar 11, 2015
    10
    By far Björk's most challenging and complex album, it exists and develops on its own universe, and feels as alien and complicated as fresh and beautifully innovative. One of the best pieces of avant-garde in a long long time.
  19. jasonhicks23
    Mar 2, 2015
    6
    I don't think I've ever been so massively disappointed by an album the way I was with this one and I am probably Bjork's #1 fan. Someone once told me that it'd grow on me but it hasn't to the extent that I actually like it. Crystalline, Cosmogony, Virus, Mutual Core and Solstice are the only likeable tracks imo, I just absolutely cannot fathom how this album has 10/10 reviews. Virus isI don't think I've ever been so massively disappointed by an album the way I was with this one and I am probably Bjork's #1 fan. Someone once told me that it'd grow on me but it hasn't to the extent that I actually like it. Crystalline, Cosmogony, Virus, Mutual Core and Solstice are the only likeable tracks imo, I just absolutely cannot fathom how this album has 10/10 reviews. Virus is probably the best song on the album. I just get such a hollow feeling from listening to this material as a whole.… Expand
  20. Lenis
    Jan 28, 2015
    9
    It's great to hear her accent again. Her voice sound incredibly delicious to hear she's at her best vocal moment. This is a pretencious project who interact with the iPads and some new models to Bjork. It's her best minimalist work to date and the trinity can't get out of my head -Mutual Core, Crystalline and Cosmogony- other songs such as Hollow and Virus can relate to real biologyIt's great to hear her accent again. Her voice sound incredibly delicious to hear she's at her best vocal moment. This is a pretencious project who interact with the iPads and some new models to Bjork. It's her best minimalist work to date and the trinity can't get out of my head -Mutual Core, Crystalline and Cosmogony- other songs such as Hollow and Virus can relate to real biology conecting with ourselves. This record it's not an easy-listening but once you discover it's magic it will take you to other alternative spaces with new sounds as she create new instruments, some kind of 'Internal Nebula' I really enjoyed her live performances, it seems like a collection of hypnotic ballads with some rare beats. She's at the time of her live and artistic career than she can do literally whatever she wants even making such hard songs like Dark Matter and talking about little things that usually we don't realize, we have it inside.… Expand
  21. vicxxx
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    Biophilia is the best album of Björk for me, can spend 50 years and this album will still sound futuristic and avant-garde, I love the whole concept of this album, it's beautiful from beginning to end.
  22. HaithamB
    Dec 5, 2014
    7
    It is fascinating and pure magical. Bjork's Biophilia is a different take on contemporary music. Therefore, it might not appeal to everyone subsequently there will trolls and haters.
  23. Muddsjr
    Feb 22, 2014
    8
    as well as delivering a collection of deeply scientific lyrics, Bjork's Biophilia also has a deeply scientific sound about it. And the thing that makes this album such a minor treasure, is how, putting aside some of those more boring parts to the start of the album, Biophilia manages to place itself as a rather touching album.
  24. JonnaLee
    Dec 3, 2013
    0
    The f*ck she's think she is doing? I don't know why critics love her so much... she stands for the Japanese culture like she's Japanese or something... I really don't know why of this. Look to my album "Bounty", have so many different meanings but its attend culture as universal, not the exaltation of a single one. You better stop being hypocritical, Björk, just a tip...
  25. asjklasjklas
    Nov 15, 2013
    8
    In all its simplicity, Biophilia is Bjork's most musically challenging album to date. Expect the "weirdness" that listeners unfamiliar with the Icelandic singer-songstress have accused her musical endeavors of being since her departure from the Sugarcubes and her 1993 debut entry, well, Debut. But for any listener that's accompanied the former acclaimed "pixie", it's one of her lessIn all its simplicity, Biophilia is Bjork's most musically challenging album to date. Expect the "weirdness" that listeners unfamiliar with the Icelandic singer-songstress have accused her musical endeavors of being since her departure from the Sugarcubes and her 1993 debut entry, well, Debut. But for any listener that's accompanied the former acclaimed "pixie", it's one of her less diverse entries to date, which still remains afar from a complaint. Although its accompanying app was a landmark in technical innovation, according to Bjork, it was also partially recorded via an iPad, which itself seems innovative in some sense. The subject matter is science, and that's no metaphor; Biophilia will no doubt be used by college teachers eager to use a "hipper" technique in educating uninterested students. It's half-in-half an acoustic record accompanied by Bjork's usual favor of instruments unfamiliar to Westerner's ears and a whole-hearted electronica influenced "acid trip", as some would call it. Electronically, the genres aren't all too unfamiliar: "Crystalline" narrates Bjork's fascination by the crystallization in minerals and rocks using breakbeats before entering an uproar of drum-and-bass to emphasize the finale while "Mutual Core" uses the contemporary trend of dubstep in its breakdowns to accompany Bjork's metaphorical use of tectonic plates to represent the compatibility of human beings. But despite not musically alienating us like she did with her 2004 acapella masterpiece Medula, it's certainly not gonna score her any charting singles anytime soon. But that's what's so fascinating about Bjork is her departure from the mainstream without seeming so insincere. Biophilia has art in tact and it continues to spotlight Bjork's unattainable vocals that have graced for more than twenty years. And as she continues to reinvent herself without "actually" reinventing herself at all, we'll all continue to be amazed, whether we go along with the flow or not.… Expand
  26. wallofjericho42
    Nov 12, 2013
    9
    Bjork's Biophilia feels like an experiment. With minimalism and metaphor abound, Bjork crafts an intricate collection of tracks that challenge traditional musical concepts, while still feeling organic. Not as intimate as Vespertine, or as beautifully idealistic as Medulla, but Biophilia is its own. Like nature itself, Biophilia does what it feels to be right. Songs seem to flow randomlyBjork's Biophilia feels like an experiment. With minimalism and metaphor abound, Bjork crafts an intricate collection of tracks that challenge traditional musical concepts, while still feeling organic. Not as intimate as Vespertine, or as beautifully idealistic as Medulla, but Biophilia is its own. Like nature itself, Biophilia does what it feels to be right. Songs seem to flow randomly and freely, like water rushing to fill in gaps in the rocks. Bjork's vocals are side by side the instrumentals in this Album, meshing the human element with non-human.

    It's not traditional, and sometimes it can be difficult to listen easily to, but there's no denying Bjork has crafted something truly unique. Biophilia feels natural, as if it were crafted and formed through the natural geological processes that shaped the earth. Like nature itself, Biophilia is random, intricate, and beautiful.    … Expand
  27. perUmbram
    Oct 29, 2013
    10
    An absolute grower. At first Björk seems a little bit sparse here, but the pounding electronic instruments and the incredible choral arrangements evoke the forces of nature with brutal strength. Well-balanced between quieter, moving tracks (Moon, Cosmogony, Virus and Solstice), darker songs (Thunderbolt, Dark Matter, Hollow, Sacrifice, Mutual Core) and the bright, direct Björk we knowAn absolute grower. At first Björk seems a little bit sparse here, but the pounding electronic instruments and the incredible choral arrangements evoke the forces of nature with brutal strength. Well-balanced between quieter, moving tracks (Moon, Cosmogony, Virus and Solstice), darker songs (Thunderbolt, Dark Matter, Hollow, Sacrifice, Mutual Core) and the bright, direct Björk we know (Crystalline and bonus-track Náttúra). Björks lyrics have never been more ambitious and, once you listen to them multiple times, never have hit home harder. Here's an all-new galaxy of stupendous creativity and unbelievable power.… Expand
  28. AlessandroOdo
    May 12, 2013
    10
    Hypnotic and wonderful. All the effort shows how Bjork is growing and trying to make different things. I love how she compared the "true biophilia" with casual things.
  29. Rubyglass
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    For some reason, the more Björk tries for avant garde cred, the more pedestrian her songwriting gets. Tuneless nothings and even cheesy ballads are just frosted with twinkly chimes and crackling sounds and multi-tracked vocals. Also features some of the most embarrassing lyrics of her career.
  30. Deadrisy
    Feb 2, 2013
    10
    A great album from a great artist that takes time to get in to, but once you do you will love it.The songs are experimental with fascinating instruments and of course Björk's wonderful voice.My favourite tracks are Crystalline and Sacrifice.I hope to see Björk one day and thank her for her original innovative unique music and voice.9.5/10.
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed Album of 2011
24
#24 Most Shared Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Delusions of Adequacy
    Nov 15, 2011
    90
    Biophilia is an excellent addition to her glorious discography.
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  2. Blurt Magazine
    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.
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  3. No Ripcord
    Oct 24, 2011
    60
    Despite some flaws in its execution, Biophilia does succeed in pushing beyond the already established album-singles-videos model, and the creation of a digital experience to compliment the music feels like a natural progression in the way that music is packaged and consumed.
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