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The Girl And The Robot from Norwegian electro duo Royksopp’s Junior album and None Of Dem from Swedish pop star Robyn’s Body Talk Pt. 1 were both excellent collaborations, the former an outstanding synth-pop gem that belongs with Dancing On My Own and Call Your Girlfriend on the short list of all-time great Robyn songs that make women feel understood.
So this debut joint EP from the Scandinavian power dance team is giddily anticipated. The 35-minute project is bookended by 10-minute jams that flaunt Royksopp’s deft orchestration. On dramatic opener Monument, Robyn is regal and deliberate over a simple electronic bass line, until a muffled jazz saxophone creeps in unexpectedly midway through. The closer, on the other hand, is a Robyn-less, almost eerie ambient soundscape that calls to mind recent Boards of Canada.
But it’s the middle songs that are most immediately enjoyable. On Sayit, Robyn trades lines with a computer over a glitchy techno beat. Lead single Do It Again provides the ultra-catchy, sexually charged dance-floor track we’ve come to expect from the singer, and Every Little Thing is a melancholy slower burner that earns a spot on the aforementioned short list.
Top track: Do It Again
Royksopp & Robyn play Echo Beach August 25.
