Björk - Crystalline

The song is built around a loop of flickering percussion, which sounds like someone lightly tapped on a glass with a spoon then digitally processed the results to turn up the brightness. An undertow of halting beats gathers as the song progresses, while the spare backing allows Björk's vocals to rocket to the moon and back via a lyrical conceit that intertwines the process of crystal formation and blooming human relationships. That comfort-zone emoting on "Crystalline" works brilliantly at conjuring up a false sense of security, as its final act masterfully deconstructs everything that went before it by introducing the kind of faltering drum and bass rhythms that Squarepusher and Venetian Snares commonly practice. It makes this a wonderfully confounding teaser for Biophilia, leaving the possible worlds it explores wide open to suggestion.