Royksopp - Junior Review

Junior, the third album from chillout extraordinaires Royksopp, has been described as a combination of their brilliant debut, Melody A.M., and their somewhat disappointing sophomore effort, The Understanding. I don't find that sentiment to be very accurate. It resembles the loud excitement of The Understanding much more than the cool, lush, and sparse Melody A.M. Sparse is not a word that describes Junior. Each song seems to have a surplus of sounds that sometimes feels overdone and in some cases, forced, rather than the sparse perfection of Melody A.M. In fact, the only song that I think could pass as a Melody A.M. doppelganger is the bonus track "Across The Graveyard". Where once low male voices sang about another place in time, the female vocalists on Junior sing love songs that often are pushed to too large of a role. It seems that at times, instead of the singing complimenting the music, the music is complimenting the singing. Yet the singing can sometimes save songs that are otherwise mediocre. Karin Dreijer's vocals on "This Must Be It", for example, rescues the song from becoming too repetitive and unexciting. But this album has it's moments: the sad yet sweet "Miss It So Much", or the oddly enthralling opener, "Happy Up Here", which is one of the most irresistibly uplifting tracks I've ever heard. The standout though is "Vision One", with pretty keyboards and sublime vocals, it can't help remind me of, um, "Remind Me". It is not a great album, but Junior is a satisfying and intriguing listen from a truly unique duo.

3 1/2 Stars