Royksopp 'Junior'

Getting an album out of these guys is a painstaking affair at best, torturous as their potential is so high. A mere three albums in the past 8 years. ’Melody A.M’, was a stroke of genius; their follow-up, ‘The Understanding’ was very much a letdown in my opinion. Therefore, this was their make-or-break album for me, and they hit the nail firmly on the head. Their sound has clearly developed and fused the best elements of the past previous albums; namely the laid back ambient feel with more upbeat dance beats. They made good use of quest vocals, my only criticism is maybe they venture too far down that road in an attempt to commercialize their music? They have retained their irreverent playful side but the whole project appears to have a more mature feel to it. There are some real cheesy moments here, what else can be expected from a Norwegian band? However, skips those and focus on the tracks which more than make up for their misguided voyage into that embarrassing world of Euro pop. Their music appears simple but dig deeper and you will hear detailed layers but you have to actually listen to the music! Don’t be fooled into thinking this can be used simply to create a chilled background ambience. Apparently this is part one of its complementary twin ‘Senior’ which will be released later in the year. If this album is anything to go by, then we should be waiting with great anticipation for its big brother to arrive.