In 2002, the Norwegian duo of Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland found a sweet spot between wispy Moon Safari-style pop and Boards of Canada-like atmospherics on the widely-admired Melody A.M. The Understanding sounds relatively absent-minded, careening around the room like a panicky fly. Some of it works well; the bouncy "Only This Moment" resembles Fischerspooner at their silliest (and thus, most fun), while "49 Percent" gets a huge lift from a New Jack vocal courtesy of Chelonis R. Jones. But the record is too often thwarted by syrupy synth-pop ("Follow My Ruin") as well as the lack of shifty downtempo rhythms and avant-garde underpinnings that kept Melody so pleasantly grounded. They havent lost their knack for subtle hooks and well-placed cross-rhythms, like the slippery keyboard squibble that glides its way into "What Else Is There?" But the sophomore curse is hard to overcome, and though theres plenty here to recommend, Berge and Brundtland arent able to break the spell. –Matthew Cooke
Pitchforkmedia
8.1 out of 10
Editorial Reviews
Royksopp who hail from Norway are back with a great new and eagerly awaited second album. Break-beats and retro-funky rhythms are at times more prevalent in this album without the band having lost any of the dreamy qualities of their previous release. Where the previous album was hypnotic and more abstract, this album is more focused on compact continuous melodies and a more retro-fururistic sound (New Order come to mind). Don't get me wrong though, the unique cinematic and playfull Royksopp sounds are still alive and well. The opening instrumental track "Triumphant" starts with a piano riff that made me think i was listening to a solitary pianist expressing his mellow angst rather than a pop song that i'd expect Royksopp to produce,later on the opening track incorporates some more more instruments that signal the start of this album's experience, the song almost reminds me of the start of a stroll basically, it has a cinematic quality. It's just tough trying to explain Royksopp's music anyway. "Only this moment" which is the second track is an absolutely brilliant track and the best in the album in my opinion. The beats are playful, and the sensual vocals (both male and female) add a very unique warm vibe to the song. It's a truly unique song and in a perfect world should have a heavy MTV or radio play rotation (i'm sure in Europe it will have it's chance, but i'm focusing on the bland airwaves of the US as a sad example). I definitely turn the volume way up on this one. "49 Percent" is a poetic track that has a drum roll and some aetherial echo as a background, it's a track that slowly builds up to a euphoric climax. Very cinematic, very optimistic, very spring-like. I like it alot. "Sombre Detune" leaves me uninterested (pretty much the only song in this album that had that effect on me), so i skip this one, it's just an instrumental track that just doesn't go anywhere in particular. The constant "ah ah" sounds really don't add much and i think the song would have been better off not been included in the album. "Follow my ruin" is a nice pop song, retro sounding at parts, a bit 80s and a bit reminiscent of DaftPunk, it's got nice male vocals , similarly, on "Beautiful day without you", where we experience a very nice laid back sound and a nice conitnuous narative of whispering and laid back vocals (that fans of their hit "Poor Leno" might like). On "What else is there" Karin Dreijer's voice brings Cindy Lauper to mind, with a very interesting track. A nice pairing of pained and yet dreamy vocals with a low electric guitar that appears here and there and a signature beeping backround sound that was prevalent in the first album, it is the 2nd best pefrormance in this CD i think the end of the song reminds me of clocks ticking and having a chill out sleepy symphony all of their own. I wish there were more of her singing vocals on this CD. "Circuit breaker" is a cool and fast paced electronic romp, it has a quick beat, yet the background is a nice warm low humm that evokes two different moods while the vocals are quick and breathless, the female vocalist's soothing melody adds a very nice and dreamy touch to the song towards the end. "Alpha Male" is an epic instrumental track, it's a bit like following a ride through a labyrinth of sonic and lush electronic sounds to get to the end of a destination. A bit like a little story to a soundrack for an adventure only you can imagine with your eyes closed to it. "Someone like me" is another mellow yet groovy song, i love the clapping sounds that add a bizarre gospel element to the song. Retro 80's in sound, yet with warm, smooth whispering & soft male vocals. "Dead to the world" could easily be music composed for underwater sea-diving documentaries. Very dreamy, very soothing angelic and aetherial. Sleepy vocals add an angelic element to a mesmerizing chill out track. "Tristesse Globale" is a muffed piano driven instrumental track that's a nice closer to CD 1. CD2 has some excellent instrumental tracks and a very very nice vocal track (track 1 called "Go Away"),that i am surprised they didnt' include on CD1. It's worth it really to fork out the extra $$ and buy this 2 CD release, since all 5 tracks on CD 2 are really excellent and quite different. The insrumentals here are exremely playful , adventurous and have lots of great electronic beats. Overall, a great new release that didn't dissapoint me while at the same time evolves the band's sound, so we don't get a repeat of the debut album. I look forward to seeing the band perform again Live. They are trully excellent in concert and much more upbeat Live. Until then, i have this new double release to enjoy and get acquainted with. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)
