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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sonic landscapes., March 31, 2009
Röyksopp - aka Svein Berge and Brundtland Torbjørn - first came to widespread attention with the top ten album "Melody A.M." in 2001 and its singles, in particular "Eple". The sleekly polite European chillout and the glacial trip-hoppy cool of these tracks made them a dream come true for advertising and TV programmes and soundtrack executives.
Sometimes the countess adverts made the Norwegians as unwelcomely ubiquitous as Moby.
The Norvegian electronic duo continue to impress with their third album, "Junior", an energetic and enchanting collection of synth-led songs that ease you into a relaxed state of mind.
As always, the Bergen-based outfit have written, performed, arranged, mixed and produced the album, while this time drawing on guest vocals from the best of Scandinavian talent including Swedish hit-maker Robyn, Karin Dreijer-Andersson (lead vocalist in the Knife) and indie-pop darling Lykke Li.
Their contributions are all largely interchangeable, but that's fine, as they are only here to grease the wheels of Röyksopp's sleek Euro electro machine as it motors through a variety of sonic landscapes.
Like Groove Armada and Goldfrapp, the Norwegian duo won fame in the chill-out zone but have since become more interesting.
The opening song on Röyksopp's "Junior" is perfectly-chosen. "Happy Up Here" is a melodic and uplifting track that sets the tone perfectly for the album.
Much of this third album gallops along in a manner that would never suit an air freshener advert, most notably "Tricky Tricky", which sees Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife emoting over a frantic electro rhythm, while Robyn provides another hands-in-the-air moment on "The Girl and the Robot".
In actuality though, they're still better at the dreamy stuff. The twinkly, mid-paced "Vision One" is the sweetest tune amid the clamour.
The album's near-masterpiece, "Royksopp Forever", is an ambitious slice of chillout that mixes cinematic string arrangements with a sample of "Skylark's Suites For My Lady". It's haunting, elegaic, and beautifully moving and evidence of the scope of Junior`s ambition.
Favoirite tracks: :Happy Up Here", "The Girl & The Robot", "Royksopp Forever", "Miss It So Much", "Silver Cruiser", and "True To Life".
"Free of the creeping pomposity that undermined 2005's The Understanding, Junior punches the pleasure centres time and again." - Guardian
"The instrumentals offer damning evidence of the Euro-lounge rut in which the band remain stuck." - Times
All in all, the album is another winning game of steady darts from Norwegian duo, who can also make more of the same sound fresh and enticing. It is is a huge pop album that deserves massive mainstream success.
Favoirite tracks: :"Happy Up Here", "The Girl & The Robot", "Royksopp Forever", "Miss It So Much", "Silver Cruiser", and "True To Life".
Melody A.M.
The Understanding
Seventh Tree
Last Night
Free
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical!, March 23, 2009
Norwegian duo Röyksopp have been responsible for some of the catchiest and trendiest pieces of Electronic Dance music since their brilliant debut "Melody AM" in 2001, especially the ubiquitous "Eple" which was used in an MTV ad. "Junior" is their third CD and it picks up where their previous two left off. This time around, they feature a wider assortment of female vocalists, Swedes Robyn and Lykke Li among them.
Opening is a swirling/beeping instrumental "Happy up here", one of four, the others being the lush "Röyksopp Forever", "Silver cruiser", and the stomping "It's what I want" (with deep stabbing retro sounding synths; think Cerrone or Giorgio Moroder).
Robyn lends her vocals to the swirling "The girl and the robot" (with lovely heavenly harmonies). The buzzing/reverb-laden "Vision one" features Anneli Drecker, whose soft vocals also appear on the upbeat but ghostly "You don't have a clue" and the sweeping and groovy "True to life".
Karin Dreijer-Andersson lends her vocals to "This must be it" and the frenetic "Tricky tricky". If she sounds familiar (especially her distinctive Swedish accent), it's because she also lent her vocals to "What Else Is There?" from Röyksopp's sophomore disc "The understanding".
Lykke Li (whose debut "Youth novels" was one of my favourites of last year) lends her elfin vocals to "Miss it so much".
Ecstatic, beautiful and mysterious all at the same time, this is another winner from Röyksopp.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I love this band, June 17, 2009
Don't get me wrong. I love this band. Many of the tracks on this album are collaborations with other artists (Robyn, Anneli Drecker, Karin Dreijer-Anderson and Lykke Li), however. I found none of those very interesting, with the exception of "Tricky Tricky" (Dreijer-Anderson), which is amusing. The band is better off on its own, as in the dark and brooding piece incongruously titled "Röyksopp Forever" and in "Happy up Here", which is indeed a very bouncy opening track.
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