Torbjørn
Brundtland and Svein Berge, the masterminds behind Röyksopp,
one of Europe’s most ubiquitous dance acts of
the last two to three years, originally collaborated
with Kolbjørn Lyslo and Gaute Barlindhaug on
Aedena Cycle and released an EP on Belgian label Apollo
in the mid nineties. The pair soon departed to work
on various projects, but they eventually got back in
touch and began working together. Their first EP as
Röyksopp, So Easy, was published on Norwegian
label Tellé, before the pair were snapped up
by London-based Wall Of Sound, home of Les Rhythmes
Digitales, Propellerheads and Zoot Woman. A handful
of EPs followed before the pair’s debut album,
Melody A.M.
finally landed in the autumn of 2001.
Despite the buzz originally surrounding the album, it
took almost a year, a fresh distribution deal between
Wall Of Sound and EMI and So Easy being licensed
by phone company T-Mobile for a Europe-wide TV advertising
campaign for the general public to succumb to the charm
of the Norwegian duo. From then on, the band’s
music became unavoidable and Brundtland and Berge became
the darlings of the festival circuit, having to rapidly
adapt to their newfound fame.
For this second album, Brundtland and Berge have resolutely
chosen to develop the vocal aspect of their music further
and provide most of the singing, with Chelonis R. Jones,
Kate Havnevik and Karin Dreijer also contributing. The
Understanding is instantly more accessible than
its predecessor. Sounding something of a crossover dance/pop
album, this sophomore effort suffers in part of a form
of rampant commercialism that had eluded Melody
A.M. Yet, repeated listens put things slightly
in perspective and reveal that the pair haven’t
lost their quirky sense of humour and penchant for tangents,
as demonstrated with the opening track, Triumphant,
which sees the pair in rather subdued mode for a while.
Soon though, the soundscapes expend, the instruments
are brought in one after the other to eventually create
a wonderfully layered pastoral moment.
The expensive Only This Moment, which follows,
is resolutely bolder and proudly displays its Balearic
influences on its sleeves. Although baring some of the
trademark tones of the pair, this whirlwind of a track,
which features vocal contribution from Kate Havnevik
alongside Brundtland and Berge, has everything to keep
the summer dance floors busy for some time. A similar
mood runs through the tongue-in-cheek Beautiful
Day Without You, albeit at a slower pace, and the
wonderfully evocative What Else Is There?,
lead by The Knife singer Karin Dreijer. Elsewhere, there
are hints of electro-funk thrown in. Both 49 Percent,
with Chelonis R. Jones on vocals, and Circuit Breaker
are carved out of dry wood into credible dance floor
monsters and see Röyksopp parked for a moment in
front of Paisley Park circa 1986.
The last section of this album is designed to gently
bring the excitement down. Firmly set in Tangerine Dreams
territory, the cinematic Alpha Male at times
also evokes Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds
and somehow rises from the ashes of Röyksopp’s
Night Out. If not as dramatic, this monumental
piece has the same nostalgic streak running through
it as the pair injects some dense electronic layers
all the way through. Someone Like Me, Dead
To The World and Tristesse Globale gently
bring this album to a close in a similar way to the
pair winding down Melody
A.M. with She’s So and 40
Years Back/Come. Both Dead To The World
and Tristesse Globale unashamedly borrow from
Brian Eno (the former sounds almost too close to Eno’s
Deep Blue Sea for comfort), yet they also serve
to demonstrate that Röyksopp can step away from
the dance floor and produce beautifully crafted melodies
set within delicate settings.
While The Understanding might initially alienate
fans of the first hour, it still bears the duo’s
inimitable sense for melodies and arrangements. Very
much as on Melody
A.M., Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein
Berge avoid obvious production gimmicks and instead
apply their own touch, making of The Understanding
a very decent follow up to its monumental predecessor.
3.9/5 |
