Röyksopp and Robyn's "Do It Again" Reviewed

Siegfried & Roy eagerly anticipated return

Scandinavian electronic duos are the LA hair metal bands of the 21st century, equal parts entertaining and irritating, they flirt with art but end up in smoking in the boys room. And so it is with  Röyksopp, who dither at ambient and come alive at House, who can energize their inner Eno with song fragments and sell a lot of copies. Big pretty soundscapes? Sure. And they own this “dream team” mash up album (well, EP really) Do It Again, recorded with Scandinavia’s primary musical export Robyn.

35 minutes in length, the last song on the album, “Inside The Idle Hour Club” is an austere, slow beauty that takes its time to close you down like the sort of emotional sterility Ingmar Bergman evoked so powerfully. The first song on the EP, “Monument” is the same plus Robyn singing in a displaced monotone. It sounds like a guest starring song on a  Röyksopp. And on the three songs in the middle, “Sayit” also belongs to  Röyksopp with only the title track and the sublime “Every little Thing” making it as Robyn owned and operated.

I was a huge fan with Robyn’s 2010  Body Talk Part One but Part Two was a disappointment and her show at Radio City Music Hall was a drag. That was four years ago but her mistake, she released too much stuff, was not one she makes on Do It Yourself, if  Röyksopp and Robyn had added just one more song, it if it had hit the 40 minute spot, I wouldn’t have liked it half as much. 35 minutes was a perfect length to keep you listening and two really great Robyn songs were just enough to whet your appetite for more.

The  Röyksopp songs, the other three tracks, are two perfect ambient modes and a fine dance track. None of this is anybody’s greatest achievement but for all its size, for its almost humility despite being a meeting of two huge stars, still it stands head and shoulders above so much stuff. A fine EP, a great way to spend 35 minutes of your life.

Grade: B+