39
What Else is There
Royksopp featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson
The Understanding (2005)
Royksopp has really become a personal favorite — their first album was decent, but its largely instrumental nature made it hard for me to get into. The second time around they brought in a number of guest vocalists (and explored their own vocals as well), and created one of my favorite albums of the decade with “The Understanding.” This is the strongest song from the disc, featuring the prolific singer Karin Dreijer Andersson, who is probably best known as the singer for The Knife and Fever Ray. Andersson’s distinctive voice — which vaguely recalls Bjork back when she was at her poppiest — is just the right shade of piercing and plaintive. The video – where the white-blonde, freckled singer floats through fields and buildings, dripping, uh, milk the whole way — seems to complement the song perfectly. This is just an utterly compelling track.
Also check out: The one stand-out song from The Knife, “Heartbeats,” which nearly made this list.