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Anyone with even a passing interest in Royksopp--whose ears have been pricked by an Eple or Poor Leno--could do far worse than immerse themselves in one of 2009's greatest releases.
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It's an icy blast of electro-pop that channels the genre's most quirkily beautiful moments and ups the ante with the unmistakable influence of the duo's film-scoring heroes, Vangelis and Angelo Badalamenti.
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There's a gorgeously indulgent quality to Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland's third album.
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BlenderThrough it all, the machines sound as juicily alive as the human beings. [Apr 2009, p.63]
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Junior is about as sturdy as a disco album can be, which is a remarkable achievement itself. One deliberately-paced decade in and Royksopp are showing no signs of creative fatigue or self-cannibalization.
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Junior breathes new life into an already overpopulated genre of glitch and synth stab fury.
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With fewer instrumental tracks than previous efforts, the band's lovelorn and off-kilter view of the universe finally gets a starring role.
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Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge move away from millennium trance tracks like '49 Percent' from 2005’s "The Understanding," and that’s a good move.
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Under The RadarAs you can tell, those who are fans of dreamy electronic music with dreamy Scandinavian female vocalists can get ready to be thrilled by the sheer talent on hand for this record. [Spring 2009, p.79]
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While it might be oversimplifying matters to suggest that it splits the difference between the cute, poppy Royksopp and the darker, techno-friendly Royksopp, the most satisfying thing about Junior is how convincingly they've bridged that divide.
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Despite their wintry chill-out origins, Nordic keyboard pair Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland create smooth, sunny sounds perfect for roller-skating on rainbows.
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Royksopp remain among the best at middlebrow dance-pop, crafting music that can and will rule the supermarket aisles while still having a shelf-life longer than the canned ham you'll find there.
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Sit down a few times with the music and let it percolate; there’s more to Junior than that first chuckle.
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Established fans may have a problem with the ADHD style of Junior, and the album does raise some questions: is it better to be great at one thing or good several things? If you are a well-versed fan of electronica and you know what you like, then this album might not be for you.
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This Norwegian production couple are deft punks on their third album, a synthetic collection of upbeat dance music encapsulated by the coiling, galactic theme song 'Royksopp Forever.'
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Eight years later, no longer so wide-eyed, the Norwegian duo sound more pedestrian, though 'Royksopp Forever' proves they haven't lost their sense of fun.
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While irrepressibly buoyant, this instills a lacking, spectator quality to the album, which for the casual listener often plays like the soundtrack to a movie you haven't seen.
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It’s a shame, then, that instead of a sequence of whip-smart sonatas ruminating on the Scandinavian psyche, all that dribbles out is a pedestrian stream of the same old bubble-bath beats.
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Upbeat comeback from the kings of coffee-table electro.
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MojoBeyond the singles-"Melody A.M." lapsed into a latterday jazz-funk. This album sometimes tends the same way, but interest is reignited by Royksopp Forever--ELO with dancebeats--and the tracks where Lykke Li and The Knife's Karin Dreijer-Andersson approach Robyn's unhinged lager-umlaut Europop berserkersim. [May 2009, p.104]
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Q MagazineAll told, a successful modernisation of an old formula. [May 2009, p.118]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 57 out of 59
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Mixed: 1 out of 59
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Negative: 1 out of 59
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FredricHMar 29, 2009Listen to this one a few times and you will find that this album is pure genius. Nothing else in the genre even comes close.
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Jul 19, 2020
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DanHApr 27, 2009There best work by far