This is the same review that used to tacked onto the end of the Phoenix review, but I decided it was to long. So here it is;
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen
Okay, can I just say that I think every album should start with giggling? That’s right, the first noise you hear on “Happy Up Here” is the two Norwegian men that make up this duo laughing. How bitchin’ is that? It the starts in right away with a fantastic synth hook, and the thrills don’t stop there. The giddy hook is accompanied by breathy vocals singing about “really liking it,” and “being happy up here,” followed by computerized “what you got for me” and shouts of “I’M READY FOR IT!” and then there’s super. Huzzah for this song!
“The Girl and The Robot” kicks off with some minor key fuzz and mildly creepy “aahs.” at 0:33, Swedish singer Robyn’s powerful voice comes in, singing a song of longing for what you already have. This isn’t the kind of song you’d expect pretty harmonies form, but you get them anyway in the fourth stanza. “Fell asleep in front of MTV.”
“I’m in love with a robot.”
“Vision One” starts like it’s going to be a cute little electric ballad, but I’m pretty sure you can go ahead and not expect any of those on this album. The synth chords end and in comes a funky ass-shaker, again with a growling bass line that ends up holding the melody. Fellow Nord Anneli Drecker come in on vocals with siren like qualities, and you find that you just can’t stop listening to this damn song. Bravo.
So, “This Must Be It” seems like it could have been a good song, but I can’t stand this chick’s voice. “This chick” is Karin Dreijer Andersson, of The Knife fame (apparently some people were very excited that she was on this album,) and her voice just kind of drills into my head. Eew. Next please.
“Röyksopp Forever” This song is fucking awesome. Allow me to explain… It starts quiet, as is common in songs in general. It holds the same note on strings for a while (crescendo, decrescendo, of course) and then it changes notes, and then goes back up, and you think you might hear a beat. But then it’s gone as suddenly as it came. Just wait. Aah, there it is. Bass and drums. And then the actual melody starts. There’s no vocals in this one, but it doesn’t matter. Again, just wait. Until 2:15, where some more tension is made with dueling guitar and synth. Send in the angry cellos and frantic violins; it almost sounds like something from pirates. Aaaaaaand key change! Now it’s happy, and in come the “aah’s.” Maybe you won’t think this song is fucking awesome. Maybe it has to be absorbed a couple of times. Maybe it ends with more laughing.
The next track, “Miss It So Much,” brings in another Swede, Lykke Li. This songs picks up on the happy note of the song before, and every sound is so percussive, you can’t miss anything. Lykke Li’s voice comes in, and you might think they multi-tracked a four year old. Her innocent voice purrs “Days turn to nights turn to weeks turn to paper into rocks into plastic/My material heart/How it keeps us apart.” and you can’t help but bounce your head along to the steady rhythm.
“This Chick” is back for “Tricky Tricky” and ruins another perfectly viable song.
“You Don’t Have A Clue” brings Anneli Drecker back in to croon about (vague creepiness? stalkers? seduction? homicidal wants? We’re not quite sure.) Well, despite, the creepy subject matter and creepy synths and creepy piano and creepy bass and creepy strings, it’s still pretty catchy. Fer Sher check-check this one.
“Silver Cruiser” is the other instrumental, and, what a surprise, starts out quiet, with just guitar and drums. But then the bells and bass come in, and you sit listening, intrigued. This one never explodes, it just sort of builds and then fades, sort of like a glorious civilization that reached it’s peak and then slowly died out.
You could say that “True To Life” is represents that civilization just after it’s citizens realize it’s falling. A pounding drum paired with a synth ticking the same not, and Anneli’s echoy vocals make a great swan song. There’s a sadness, and then a bass line comes in and you barely even notice it at first, but then you realize it’s given the song an almost revengeful sound. Wow, I’m actually really proud of this metaphor. The bridge sounds like the anger of the civilization mounting, and then when she comes back in for the ending, it all kinda explodes into a thousand voices screaming, and then it all dies back down.
“It’s What I Want” ends on a slightly happier note, but not really. The actual duo sing on this one, as in the first track. Over a staccato synth beat, they breath “It’s what I want that’s easy; it’s getting it that’s complicated.”
Just listen to this whole damn album, okay?
